Gundam Build Fighter N
by Nemesis Astraea
Summary: Corbin Reese had a dream of making it big in Gunpla battles but made a mistake a day before the nationals. But his mistake may take him on a different path that will show him another side of Gunpla he hadn't seen or heard of before. It's going to be a very different summer break then what he's used to.
1. Chapter 1

**Gundam Build Fighter N**

I do not own Gundam or any other anime/cartoon/comic/manga/game characters that appear in this fan fiction. Enjoy.

**Chapter 01: Got a Job With Benefits**

Corbin Reese. Short blonde hair and blue eyes. A seventeen year-old boy who had dreams of entering the World Gunpla Tournament. Ever since his uncle introduced Gunpla building to him five years ago, he's wanted nothing more than to design and build his own. He watched almost every Gundam series that came out, either through his uncle's own collection or over websites on the internet and read nearly any and all side story manga. At age fifteen, he built, by himself, his very first Gunpla. He started off with the popular RX-78 Gundam. It needed a lot of work, but he was proud to put it together himself. A few months later after saving his allowance, he bought him a RX-178 Gundam Mk-II (Titan colors). His skills improved on that one after extensive work on his 78 Gundam. With almost every scent he spent to improve his building skills, and later, took part in simulated battles against Plavsky Particle generated opponents. He won few, lost many, but still continued so he could take a shot at the regional's when he felt he was ready. Upon his seventeenth birthday, his uncle bought him a MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam. Never having built a transforming Gunpla before, Corbin was ecstatic and spent hours upon hours making sure he built it just right.

Now, the beginning of summer break, he completed his Zeta. It was perfect. He didn't divert very far from the standard appearance, simply switching out the red and yellow colors out with lighter or darker shades of blue. Which gave it it's name, Blue Zeta.

Finished with the Blue Zeta, Corbin signed on to enter the regional's. They would be beginning the next day, and he had been the last to sign up. To prepare, he decided he'd get in one last training session. He had gone to the local model store at the mall that had at least two Battle Systems, and sadly both were occupied. Now battles tended to only last a couple of minutes, due to how chaotic some fighters tend to get. Like if they're rushing in on Halo multiplayer or CoD. Both were being used and had been for an extended period of time. Longer than what should have been allowed. The first had a team battle going on; two on two match. The other was a singles match with the fighter facing simulated opponents like Corbin had tended to do. The blonde teen tried to wait, but after nearly twenty minutes of staring at the veil of Plavsky particles emitted from the system, he got fed up and entered his Zeta into the fight with the single fighter…

…that was his biggest mistake. One his Blue Zeta would pay the price.

The only opponent there was facing off against hordes of simulated Gunpla in a desert battlefield with harsh weather conditions added. Harsh winds picked up sand and wet dust and mud through the air as the rain beat down on the environment. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, blotting out any and all light. Not paying attention to his surrounding areas, Corbin demanded that the other fighter hurry up and end the simulation so others could use it. But he hadn't paid attention to the damage level settings set at max. His Zeta was immediately assaulted by the simulator Gunpla upon his entry into the battlefield and he was shocked at how ferocious the simulated Mocks charged at him! He ducked and dodged incoming fire from the simulated Gunplas. Dozens of them! It was like facing a small army. Something he hadn't done in his own private battles. He did however manage to land a few blows to the enemy Gunpla, managing to take out five before taking a hit in the shoulder which knocked him off tilter. It was only the saving grace of the other fighter that the simulations were removed in a quick flash of red, their bodies erupting in a chain of explosions. Forgetting that he was just saved, Corbin demanded that he end his simulation so others could use it.

The opponent stood far off on a mesa, shrouded in the darkness of the storm above. When Corbin got no response, he decided to use force and rushed in to attack. He figured it would be good practice to face an actual opponent. Transformed, the Blue Zeta took to the skies to deliver an aerial assault. The shrouded enemy leapt away, avoiding the blast of the Blue Zeta's main weapon while leaving a trail of red/orange particles in its wake. He came in for another pass, and again the enemy dodged, it's back still emitting the same glow. Being familiar with most of the Gundam series, he knew that Gunpla was using a GN-Drive like the ones from Gundam 00. Which would explain it's ability to dodge his shots so quickly with practiced grace. Opting for a different approach, he dove in hard as he came for another pass. Again he fired and as his opponent dodged the shot, he quickly transformed, saber handle drawn to land a decisive blow…

…and saw nothing but the trail of red/orange particles pass him by before he even activated his saber. His screens lit red with warnings as he watched the readout on his Gunpla. The saber arm had been severed, and he watched it sail away, the pink fire of his blade coming to life only to die out just shortly after. The damaged section lit up in a small explosion, which tilted his Gunpla. He frantically tried to straighten his fall, his Blue Zeta finally bringing its legs beneath it to fire the thrusters and cushion the landing. But his machine was quickly assaulted by the unknown enemy, shield pressed against the body of his Gunpla as it was shoved hard into one of the towering mesas. Before he could try and retaliate, a large, solid blade was plunged deep into the left shoulder of the Blue Zeta, effectively pinning it to the rocky surface. Seeing it up close, he could make it out to be similar to the GN Sword carried by the GN-001 Gundam Exia, but was slightly smaller in design. Taking in it's design, he realized it was a the Proto GN Sword carried by the Exia's predecessor, the GNY-001 Gundam Astraea. Now face to face with his enemy, he could see that's what he had been fighting.

Lightening crackled and flashed overhead as the rain beat down on them and he could see why it was hard to make the machine out. It was colored black with undertones of gray. The usual green gem that would be in its chest was colored red instead, along with its eyes which burned into his own.

"Two minutes."

Corbin blinked, for the first time hearing the voice of his opponent. He sounded older, and with a slight hint of annoyance. "What?" was his only response.

"I only had two minutes left. You couldn't wait that long?" The Astraea detached the Proto GN Sword from its arm and slowly floated back on a current of simulated GN Particles. "I paid to use this machine for at least an hour."

"Other people…!"

"Could wait till I was finished, kid." The Astraea reached for the weapons on it's hips, and Corbin could make the shape of a GN Short Blade and a GN Long Blade. "It's rude to butt in on someone's work." He drew the blades, expertly giving them a bit of a spin in each hand till he crossed them over his chest. "Usually calls for punishment when your rude. That's what my dad taught me. Of course, my dad had a stick up his ass."

Corbin's eyes widened as he saw what was about to happen. The Blue Zeta shifted, dropping it's shield so it could freely use it's hand to try and dislodge the Proto GN Sword. Before he could even budge it an inch, the Astraea swung both blades, their edges cutting into either side of the Zeta's neck while digging into the rock face behind it. The head flew through the air, and the Astraea easily spun around, landing a kick that sent the severed head flying through the air. Sheathing both blades the Astraea claimed its Proto GN Sword and pulled it free as the simulator's AI announced that the battle was over. As the Plavsky Particles began to die out, the Astraea touched down on the pad, standing over the remains of the fallen Blue Zeta.

Corbin could only stare at the remains, his body shaking slightly. The Blue Zeta was going to be his entry into the tournament, and now it lay in ruin before him. He saw it had taken less than a minute to be beaten effortlessly by the unknown fighter of the Astraea. All his hard work and time, gone in seconds.

Movement caught his eye and for the first time he saw the man who beat him. He was older, maybe late twenties. Short brown hair with glasses and green eyes that stared down at him with a scowl on his face. He only looked at him for a few seconds before he reached down, plucking up his black Astraea from the simulator and then bending down to retrieve a flash drive from the side of the machine. Pocketing the drive and the Astraea into a personal carrying pouch, the man turned and looked at the Zeta. He eyed it for what felt like a minute. "Did good work putting it together. Glued the lines and sanded them down before painting?" he asked nonchalantly. Like he hadn't just decimated the thing. "Gives it a slightly more whole look to it."

"Yea…" Corbin stuttered. "Was going to enter the tournament with it."

The stranger arched a brow. "Really? Got a backup or replacement parts ready? Going to need them."

"No."

The stranger paused, his jaw dropping as he looked to the Blue Zeta and then back to Corbin. "Wait, you were going to enter with just that Gunpla and not having something to fall back on?"

"I've got other Gunpla but nothing compared to the work I put into that one." He continued to shake as he stared at his Zeta, looking at the severed head lying some feet away. "I put… so much work into it. Hours…"

The stranger hissed as if he was in pain, and scratched his head. "Shit," he cursed silently to himself. "Wasn't expecting that. Had I'd known I wouldn't have gone completely all out on you." But his face straightened and he stared at Corbin. "But you shouldn't have barged in like that in the first place, kid."

"I needed the practice…" Corbin defended, but his voice was lacking the strength behind it.

"Have you ever fought against actual people?"

"No… only the simulation…"

"Then you wouldn't have lasted a minute, just like now." Corbin's eyes widened and he looked to the man as he adjusted his glasses. "I wanted to see what you could do. Maybe if you fought in a team you'd do ok, but as a solo fighter, you've got a lot to learn. You didn't even know what you were up against and just rushed in!"

"But…"

"No buts kid. You screwed yourself. And the Zeta bit it." He walked over and grabbed a single strap back pack from the other side of the simulator, throwing around his shoulder and neck, he dropped his Gunpla case in it and turned back to Corbin. He stared at the defeated kid and sighed. "What's your name, kid?"

"Corbin Reese…"

The man nodded, and pulled out his wallet. He held a card in the light and then slid it over to Corbin. "The names Writ. Writ Butler. I may have been an ass in the fight, but I don't like leaving people busted like this. Come to this address on the card tomorrow, and I'll get you hooked up."

Corbin didn't even watch the man, Writ Butler, leave. He just stared at the Blue Zeta. It was maybe a minute before he slowly collected the remains. The severed arm was lying on the opposite side so he had to walk around to retrieve it. As he dumped the remains into his bag, he looked to the card still sitting on the simulator. Taking it up, he flipped it over from the blank side to see the stylized lettering of _Mega Gear Hobbies!_

_So he works at a hobby shop?_ Corbin thought. Still, his dream of entering was cut down, literately, and now he had to kill some time before his mom came by the mall to pick him up…

"Man you got your ass kicked."

Corbin's eyes widened and he looked over to see Jake Cardigan. Shaggy black hair covered his blue eyes. You'd think the guy never stepped out into the sun, considering how pale he was. The guy was in the same classes as him. Hardly ever spoke. Never on bad terms, nor any good. But most people knew he liked to Gunpla battled. One of the more decent fighters in the school. "You saw?"

"Oh, I saw alright," he said shaking his head. "I had been watching the guy fighting with that beast of an Astraea for nearly half an hour. He had set the damage to the highest level with the combat placed the same. That's usually set for people who are looking to be in the tournaments."

Corbin nodded as it dawned on him what he stepped into. That man, Writ Butler, must have been training for the tournament. He had put himself against the highest level of difficulty and had been fighting for nearly an hour, maybe more, against hordes of enemies. Hell he could have sworn he saw the remains of a simulated GFAS-X1 Destroy Gundam within the hordes of fallen that had littered the grounds.

But if he was going to be in the tournament, why tell him to come by the shop he worked at? Was he going to just give him a model to compensate for Corbin's ruined Zeta while he ran off to fight in the regional's? Felt almost like an insult.

"But man, you sure did get owned. I knew you were into the hobby but didn't take you as a fighter though," Jake continued as he approached, setting in his GP Base. The Battle System lit up, and he quickly programmed the settings a lower difficulty than what Corbin had faced. He drew out from his Gunpla case a customized Sword/Aile Strike Dagger with a yellow and blue paint scheme instead of the red and blue. "And heard you were going to enter the tournament? Ouch. Sorry to see your Gunpla get trashed just the day before. Better luck next year, man."

Corbin didn't bother saying any goodbyes as Jake was surrounded by a veil of light. He just walked away, staring at the card. He had an hour before his mother would come and get him. He'd just have to sit somewhere and think till she arrived.

**OOO**

That night he didn't say much. He just told his mom and dad he wasn't feeling too good and needed to lye down. Didn't even eat dinner really. He just sat at his little work bench in the corner and stared at the Blue Zeta. For shit's and giggles, he had a mock repair bay, mostly for picture purposes, and right now, his Zeta was lying in it. It was something to help pass the time, but the sight didn't erase the memory of his defeat. No, his annihilation. Writ had all but said he allowed him to fight. And when thinking about the fight, he was right. At any given time he could have charged at him with his Astraea, or possibly shot him down before he tried to get in close.

Left with nothing else to do, he set the Blue Zeta up as best as he could, and snapped a few shots he'd upload to his deviantART page.

After a rough night's rest, he was up and ready, if a bit sluggish, to go and see this place called _Mega Gear Hobbies!_ He had honestly never heard of the place before, and he could understand why. You see, Corbin lived in a small town called Phenix (yes that's how it's spelt) City which was just a bit in the south east corner of the state of Alabama. Over time the place grew up, and hardly resembles the hick small town it used to be, but compared to its neighbor just on the opposite side of the river, Columbus, it was still pretty small. So not only did Corbin have to go across the bridge into Columbus, Georgia, but also to the FAR end in order to find the strip mall that held the hobby store.

So nearly an hour later, they arrived and you couldn't possibly miss the sign which held a silhouette of a plane, car, boat, and the head of a Gundam. After leaving the car, his mom told him she'd be back in an hour to pick him up. Leaving him with enough cash to grab something to eat at the _Sonic _just across the street, he approached the glass door, pausing to look at the inside from the out. It didn't look very lively, and he could make out one person sitting behind the front counter casings. With a deep breath he entered, the door ringing as it opened to a certain degree. The air smelled like cardboard with a bit of air freshener. Shelves and isles were stacked with various types of models. All were basically sectioned off into their own categories with Gunpla being to the far side near the windows. Nearly an entire wall sectioned to itself. He was so tempted to go straight over there to see what they had, but he needed to take care of business first.

Flipping the card around in his fingers, Corbin approached the front counter, seeing a single man reading… a manga? Corbin blinked and shook his head. His approach didn't go unnoticed and so the man put the manga aside and turned to him, standing up from his chair. He had brown hair, short cut on the sides with his hair slightly spiking at the front. He looked to be the same age as that Writ guy. Brown eyes showed a tired look but he smirked and gave a nod. "Welcome to _Mega Gear Bobbies!_ How can I help you?"

Corbin flipped the card over one last time in his fingers and held it to the man. "I got this from a guy called Writ. Said he works here. Said for me to come by when I got the chance."

The man behind the counter looked to the card, and looked to finally understand. "Awe, so you're the kid he decimated yesterday."

1

Corbin's eyes widened. "He told you!?"

"Told?" he chuckled, causing Corbin to frown. "He SHOWED me the fight. It was short," he said, waving for Corbin to follow as he stepped out from behind the counter. Corbin didn't even get a chance to ask HOW he showed him the fight. He moved around a corner towards the section that had model trains. Opening a door that said _'Battle Room'_, the guy lead Corbin down a short flight of stairs to a basement area. "Names Josh by the way. Josh Bailey."

"So you work with this Writ guy?" Corbin asked as they touched down on the floor. He paused, noticing the Plavsky Particle projection simulator in the middle of the room, with a few chairs and tables lining the sides, as well as a display case which held a number of Gunpla models. Some even looking older than when Gunpla battling became a big thing.

"Nah. This isn't really my job," Josh said with a wave as they approached another door with no sign on it at all. "We're friends from back in our high school days, so when I'm off I tend to come and chill out, helping around the store. I know how to work the cash register so I fill in when he wants to dabble in his hobbies down in his little cave here." He paused, giving the door a knock. "Yo, Writ! That kids here."

Josh stepped back, letting Corbin see the door open slowly. There was Writ, wearing a blue shirt with the stores logo plastered across the chest. He gave a yawn and shook his head. Large bags hung under his eyes as he blinked a couple of times. He adjusted his glasses and blinked again before he recognized Corbin. "Oh hey," he said, looking back into the room. Corbin could hear the sound of a running computer, with some music playing on a low setting. "Didn't expect you to show up so early. Was thinking lunch-ish."

Corbin got a serious look on his face as he crossed his arms. "You said you'd hook me up." He blinked, thinking on how he approached that. Sounded almost like a drug deal. He shook his head and let his arms drop to his sides. "What'd you mean by that?"

Writ gave a stretch, a joint popping here and there before scratching the back of his head. He looked to Josh. "How's it looking up there?"

His friend gave a shrug. "Slow as usual. Still early in the morning, bro."

Writ gave a nod to that. "True, true." He looked to Corbin and nodded to the stairs as he stepped out of his room. "Come on up, and I'll do like I said."

The three returned to the top floor of the store, and Corbin was lead to the wall of Gunpla. He had to stop himself from drooling as he saw the various sizes, model stages, and generations of Gunpla that he passed following Writ. Almost anything he could possibly want was right before him, even new Zeta models! He could rebuild his damaged Gunpla, maybe even make it better. But his joy was quickly shot down when he remembered it wouldn't be ready for the tournament. It was only two hours away and even if he did get it at least constructed, his humiliating defeat lingered over him…

He blinked. If it was in two hours, what was Writ still doing here, and not even looking remotely concerned? And why was he so tired? Was he going to battle in that condition? He was either crazy, or that confident in his abilities. "Why are you still here?"

Writ was gazing over the Gunpla, hand resting on his chin in thought when Corbin asked him the question. He blinked away some sleep from his tired eyes as he looked to the teen. "What do you mean?"

"The tournament starts in two hours. Shouldn't you be getting ready?" He heard a snort and looked back to see Josh laughing slightly behind his hand. He cleared his throat and calmed down slightly, smiling in their direction as he crossed his arms.

When Corbin looked back to Writ, the older man just blinked at him. "Why would I go to that?"

_Why?_ Corbin's jaw dropped. "You're not entering?"

Writ arched a brow, and shook his head. "Of course not."

"Then… the training? Back at the other store…"

Josh laughed again and Writ glared at him before settling back on the confused Corbin. "It's a hobby I have. I record my Gunpla battles on a flash drive and make AMVs out of the battles."

If Corbin's jaw could hit the floor, it would have. This man before him wasn't training to enter the tournament, though from what he could see of Writ's skills, he had a fair chance. But instead, he did the battles for the sole purpose of making a three, maybe four minute music montage of a Gunpla battle. And it dawned him that Writ probably had used the short battle between the two of them in the AMV. Or was going to, considering Josh said he had been shown the fight. Then it clicked. The flash drive he had retrieved after the fight! It held the recorded footage!

"So my Blue Zeta got trashed for a music video!?"

Josh's laughter got louder now. He was holding his sides and leaning against the shelf. Writ simply glared at his friend, then back to Corbin. "I'm not the one who forced you to interrupt my work, kid," he said sternly. "Like I said, if you had waited only a few more minutes, you would have had your time, and you'd be heading for the tournament to get your rear handed to you there, with an audience watching."

"What makes you think I would have lost?"

Writ let out a 'pft' and looked to the Gunpla models with his arms crossed. "Please. You lost to me in seconds, need I remind you. Those guys who take it FAR too serious would have kicked your gunpla around in the same amount of time and would have left you with nothing. I at least am willing to give you a new one, free of charge with less of the humiliation."

Corbin frowned, hands clenched into fists. Didn't help that Josh was still laughing, though it was slowly dying down. His lip twitched slightly but he looked over to the Gunpla. "Fine," he said, moving over to the stack of Zetas. He claimed the one on top and stood before Writ. "This will do."

Writ arched a brow, hand resting on his chin as he gave it a slow stroke in thought. "Hmm. Nope," he said, plucking the model box out of Corbin's hands.

The teen's jaw dropped as he stared at the retreating Gunpla. "What? But you said…"

"Never said you get to choose it, kid. These models aren't cheap." Writ looked at the shelves of Gunpla, Zeta tucked under his arm as he examined each on before landing on one. "Awe, here we go. You like transforming ones, right?" He said, reaching up and plucking a box off the shelf. Shelving the Zeta, Writ held out a RGZ-91 Re-GZ. Basically a mass production version of the Zeta.

"A Re-GZ?" Corbin frowned, looking from it to the Zeta.

"Hey. You got beat badly," Josh threw in, hands in his pockets. "Got to graduate back to a Gundam first after a beating like that."

"But!" Writ said, shelving the Re-GZ. "We can make a deal." He grinned evilly, and Corbin took a step back. "You want the Zeta? Fine. But you'll have to earn it."

"How?" Corbin questioned, making sure he had a clear path for the door. He didn't like how the atmosphere had changed.

"Work here at my shop, and earn the Zeta. Hell, I'll let you use the room downstairs to build and paint it if you want, but you'll have to work to earn that too."

"This is your shop!?"

"Yep. Why do you think I made sure the shelves had some of the hard to get Gunpla? I don't settle for the same crap everyone can get at any model store. I get the good stuff."

"Like a drug dealer," Josh snorted, ignoring the glare he got from Writ. "You still tend to do some of those little back ally deals with the Nobel custom parts?"

"Bite me. Those things are hard to come by."

Corbin blinked, looking between the two. "Custom parts?"

Writ sighed and scratched his head. "Yea. Seeing as many people like to customize the Nobel Gundam as it's the ONLY female looking Gundam type, I figured I'd dip into the market a bit. I know a guy who casts his own designs for different 'hair' types and body types for her, so I pay a good bit of cash for parts, and kinda double the sales to those who want to do something different. Wouldn't believe how many people been buying the little 'Sailor Moon' custom packs I have packaged up. I know a guy who did the WHOLE line up of Scout characters and a few originals of his own. Guy kinda creeps me out some times," he said, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

Corbin looked him up and down. "And you?"

"Me? My own Nobel Gundam?" He rolled his eyes. "Won't lie. I've got an idea or two. Haven't followed through with it, mind you. Been working to keep up with my Nemesis Astraea."

Corbin blinked. "Nemesis Astraea. Is that the Gunpla you used to beat me?"

Writ smirked and gave a nod. "Yep. Mostly just a custom painted build. My latest one. Got the idea from the Nemesis Prime toys from _Transformers_. Always liked his color scheme and thought I'd use it. Almost threw a Decepticon decal on the shoulders till I thought better of it. Don't think too many people would take kindly to me 'ruining the look' of the Astraea," he said, casting a glance at Josh.

"And it would," his friend acknowledged.

"But anyway, we got off topic," Writ said, crossing him arms and focusing fully on Corbin. "So, we got a deal? You come in on weekends and afternoons and help around the shop, and you get your Zeta. Or Re-GZ, which ever you prefer. Hell, any of my Gunpla really, so long as you work for it."

"I'm seventeen."

"So? There's still some honest work a kid your age is allowed to do, and this is one of them."

"You think," Josh piped in.

"No lip from you, officer. By the way, when does your shift start?"

"Still got a few hours before I need to get ready. So not looking forward to putting on the uniform," he said, rotating his shoulders slightly. He noticed Corbin looking at him questioningly. "What?"

"You're really a cop?"

"Yea. Surprised?"

"I am. I mean, you two were just talking about selling custom parts illegally."

"Hey, he orders me any model I want for free, and I keep my mouth shut. Win, win."

"Isn't that bribery?"

"Enough!" Writ shouted, getting their attention. He pointed at Corbin. "You? Deal or no deal?"

"Can I use the simulator as well?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I'll be your sparing partner instead of the holograms generated by the Plavsky Particles. That way, you'll be ready for the tournaments next year." He held his hand out. "Do we have an accord?

Corbin took a look at the Zeta before he thrust his hand into Writ's. "Deal. I work here for you, and I get the Zeta. When do I start?"

"Now," he said, walking past and heading back to the downstairs door. "I'll grab you a shirt."

"Wait, now!? My mom will be back in under an hour to pick me up!"

"Then I'll get to meet her!" he said as he descended the stairs. Shortly, a rush of feet came back up as Writ peered around the corner. "Is she single?"

"No!" Corbin shouted, feeling a bit disgusted at the man for asking. "And happily married!"

Writ shrugged. "Just asking, sheesh," he said then ducked back downstairs.

Corbin shook his head and looked to Josh, who held a goofy grin on his face. "He was so serious yesterday. Is he always like this?"

"Nah. Actually, he seems pretty excited. Probably cause he'll have someone around to talk to. I may show up from time to time, but I'm not always here. Not to mention, the rest of our buddies are moved away, so it's really only him and me from our old gang."

"Gang?"

"Not that kind of gang. Back in high school we were a mixed group of… well… different clicks, ya'know? Nerdy, cool, handsome, geeky… that kind." He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets as he moved back to the front counter, circling it to sit back behind the register. "I had gone Air Force after graduation, but do to a loophole, got out. Two more of our buddies went army, one went Marine. Each one is stationed at different bases across the US, so we hardly see each other unless its on an online game or something, and then you have to factor in time zones so not everyone is on board. Over time we just kinda grew apart. Hardly hear from one, and the other just kinda disappeared. And sure, we have other friends around, but they're few in number and have lives of their own, so we have to plan things ahead if we want to hang out or something."

"That…"

"Sounds about normal to me. We're still close, don't get me wrong on that. I'm damn sure if we all got back together, it'd be like old times." Josh stole a glance at the corner to the downstairs door. "But I believe Writ feels like he's more alone in the matter. Not all the time, believe me. He's just a family guy kinda-softy who likes having people around. Being alone gets him depressed pretty easily."

With a shake of his head, Corbin asked, "Why are you telling me this? Kinda personal don't you think?"

"Trust me, Writ wouldn't care if I told you. He'd probably tell you at some point anyway if you stick around long enough." He picked up his manga and started to read where he left off. "And besides, wouldn't you want a friend who could hook you up with parts for a good price? Maybe even a whole model?"

Corbin didn't even think about that. He was so weirded out by the situation, he didn't think about the pros of the deal. Yea, a few days working here and he'd be done and have his Zeta, but then what? Build it and then have nothing to do for most of the summer till someone called to hang out or if the family decided to go to the beach? If he played his cards right, not only would he be able to score models and parts for cheap, if not for FREE, he could also get the training from this guy.

Josh grinned at seeing Corbin weighing the pros and cons of the deal, and turned back to the manga till a ding from the front door caught his ear. He lowered the book enough to see who it was, and sighed tiredly. "Yo, Writ! It's for you!"

Corbin blinked and turned, pausing as he saw the strangest, most well built guy he'd ever seen. The man was currently wearing tan pants with a white under shirt under a flowery red Hawaiian shirt. What really made the guy strange though, was his HAIR! It spiked out in almost every direction you could think of. If washed and allowed to hang down naturally, Corbin was sure it would fall past his shoulders.

Writ returned to the surface from his underground lair, blue shirt in hand for Corbin, when he saw the customer at the door. "Goku!" he beamed, arms spread as he approached the very lean muscled individual.

"Writ, buddy!" 'Goku' said, approaching the store owner. The two gave a manly bro-shake followed by a bro-hug, the standard followings in the 'Bro-Code' handbook. "Good to see you, Writ. Been a few days since I last dropped by. How's business?"

Writ gave a shrug once the bro-ness settled down. "Slow for a start as usual. But you know how it goes come afternoon and evening. It'll pick up. You coming out tonight?"

"You bet!" He said, palming his right fist. "I'm pumped for the matches! You participating?"

Writ smiled with a shake of his head. "Nah. Someone has to referee these things. Oh! By the way, got my first employee," he said, holding a hand out towards Corbin. "Corbin Reese. Just started today, and is a bit of a Gunpla Fighter as well."

Stars seemed to emit from Goku's eyes as he rushed towards the boy, who backed away an inch so Goku's face wasn't so close. "You're a fighter too!? That's great! We should battle sometime!" He looked back to Writ. "Will he be fighting? What's his Gunpla?"

"A… actually…"

"His Gunpla got trashed in a bout with Writ's Astraea," Josh called out, eyes glued on his manga.

Goku seemed to calm down at that and faced Corbin. "Wow. That's a bummer. Sorry for the loss." One would almost think he was addressing a man who lost a dog. "It's hard, something you put so much work into and it being destroyed. I couldn't tell you how many times I've had my Gunpla get creamed. But we learn from our mistakes, and it helps us grow stronger for the next fight!" His energy returned, if a little more subdued. "So, what was your machine?"

"A custom painted Zeta Gundam"

"Awe, so you're a flyer huh? Death from above kinda guy, right?" Goku grinned. "Well, when you get your machine up and running, I'll spar with ya. I don't get to fight many flyers with my Shinning Gundam. Oh! That reminds me, did those parts and God Gundam come in yet?" he asked, focusing on Writ.

"Actually, they came in yesterday," Writ said, rounding the counter and ducking beneath it to retrieve the packages. "One God Gundam Gunpla and special custom parts for your wife's Nobel." He said, sitting them down on the counter.

Corbin approached, and sure enough, there was a GF 13-017NJII God Gundam, or for what it's more formally known as in the US as the Burning Gundam, the successor to the GF 13-017NJ Shining Gundam. Both suits derive from the Mobile Fighter G Gundam series, the two being the main character's MS through the show.

"This is awesome!" Goku cried, digging into his pocket for the cash he owed. "This is too good. Can't wait to put it together. This RG God Gundam will take some time, but it'll be perfect."

Corbin blinked and looked at the box with no images on it or lettering. "Take it that holds the Nobel custom parts you were talking about earlier?"

Writ nodded. "Yep. Goku's wife kinda just got into it, and when she heard there was at least ONE female type MS, she jumped at the chance to have it. Goku has shown her how to build, now with these custom parts, she'll be able to make hers a little personal, ya'know?" Taking the cash, Writ handed Goku the change and bagged the goods. "There you go, my man. Hey, how is Chichi by the way? She's in like what, month three now of her pregnancy?"

Goku grinned sheepishly, hand rubbing the hair on the back of his head. "Yep. It's showing really well too. She's already picking out all these books for the little guy to study and all even though it'll be some time before he understands anything in them. And I'm super excited of having a kid myself. I'll be able to teach him martial arts and everything! It'll be great!" He looked to the watch on his wrist and happiness changed to worry. "Oh wow, got to get back to the restaurant. Got to help the staff get the place ready for the lunch crowd." He grabbed the bags and made for the door, waving back at the group. "I'll see you guys later. You joining Josh?"

"Got night shift, Goku. Won't be able to make it tonight."

"Next time then. Hope to see you there Corbin!" he said, pointing at the boy. "It'll be exciting, trust me!"

When the door closed, Corbin turned to the duo. "What was he going on about some event tonight?"

"We throw a big Gunpla battle of our own here at the shop on weekends," Writ explained, leaning on the counter. "Everyone of all ages comes here to kinda kick back and relax while watching a battle, whether it be teams or one on one fights. Goku participates in most matches, but mostly in things involving close quarters. He's not much for range fighting."

"Does he work around here?"

"Oh yea. They have a little Chinese restaurant down at the end of the strip," Josh said, turning the page of his manga. "Chichi is a wicked chef, so decided to open up a restaurant called '_The Four Star Dragon_'. Goku had a bit of cash from winning martial arts tournaments, but never really spent a dime till he met her. So when she wanted to open up her own place, Goku dumped most, if not ALL his winnings into it for her. As far as I know, they've made up for it too. Good food."

"And how did he get into Gunpla fighting?"

"Ran into some old man who said he was an undefeated martial artist from the east," Writ said with a shrug. "The guy was a fighter in and out of Gunpla, so the two had a spar. When it was over, he told him about Gunpla battles and Goku got hooked. He still trains like his life depends on it, but he spends his spare time helping Chichi, and Gunpla fighting or building. Where he gets the energy I'll never know." Writ moved back around the counter, and presented Corbin with his new employee shirt. "Here ya go. If you want a second one, you'll have to work for it," he said with a sly grin.

Corbin looked to the front of it, reading the store's name over in his head. "Looks a bit big."

"It's cotton, it'll shrink." Writ rapped his hands on the counter surface. "Okay! Welcome to your first day at _Mega Gear Hobbies_ and now we get to what you will be doing. I'll have you mostly keeping the place clean, and the shelves stacked. Since you are a Gunpla fan, I'll let you keep a close eye on that section there. I'm more familiar with the whole store obviously, so if anyone asks about any of the model cars, trains, or whatever, let me know. I'll give ya hand. Same with Josh if he's around." He looked to said friend, who gave a simple wave while still focused on the manga.

"Does he read a lot of manga?"

"Nah, its mine. He's just bored."

"You get the next book yet? I'm almost done with this one."

Writ rolled his eyes. "Won't be out till next month."

"Damn. It's looking like it'll be ending at a cliffhanger, and I hate those."

Corbin stared at Josh, and then back to Writ. "Okay, aside from Goku, are there any other weirdoes I should be aware of that come around here?"

"Eh, a few. But they're all harmless.

**OOO**

Car parked and lock, Mrs. Cheryl Reese approached the store she had dropped her son off an hour before. Wouldn't think that she had two kids considering her body size. She kept up with her health very well, though her son and daughter joked she may be a bit too much of a health nut. But she liked looking good and wasn't about to stop for anything. Hair back in a pony tail, it pounced slightly with each step, small heels clicking on the concrete as she approached the hobby store. She wasn't into what was big, but knew that this Gunpla thing her son enjoyed made him happy. As long as he kept out of trouble she had no issues with his hobbies. Though this Gunpla thing was a bit on the expensive side. She cursed her brother for introducing it to him. Sure he would have gotten into it later on, but he had blown all of his allowances on these models he buys, not to mention the paints and tools along with them. But again, if it kept him out of trouble, it was fine. But now her biggest worry was that he wouldn't find a girlfriend…

The bell chimed as she entered, and she paused at the store's threshold as she took in the surroundings. There was a man behind the counter, nose stuck in a book. On the other side of the store was her son, talking with another older gentleman. Well, not too old. He looked to be only a little older than her daughter Kelly. Being inside a hobby store surrounded by robot models, she had to admit he looked a bit geeky with glasses. Without them, he looked to be a catch. She wondered if he was seeing someone. Her daughter could use someone in her life... Shaking her head of future match making for her daughter, she approached, hand resting on her son's shoulder. "Corbin," she said, as he turned to her. "Time to go honey."

Writ looked up, and did everything he could to not let his jaw drop. Corbin's mom was gorgeous. And he looked nothing like her. Long brown hair, hazel eyes, smoking figure… He blinked and held his hand out. "You must be Corbin's mom," he said, smiling.

Cheryl smiled, hesitantly taking his hand and giving it a shake. "Yes. No offense but aren't you a bit old to be a friend of Corbin's?"

"Friend no, boss yes," Writ said, smile never fading. "Just hired him today."

It as Cheryl's turn to drop her jaw as she turned to her son. "A job?"

Corbin nodded meekly. "Yea. We came to an understanding and I landed a summer job."

"His pay won't really be cash though," Writ said, gaining a confused look from Corbin's mother. "We met the other day and had a slight altercation. His Gunpla got pretty wrecked in it, so to settle things, he'll work for me, and in exchange, I give him a brand new model, and some other accessories as payment, free of charge."

Cheryl looked to her boy, connecting the dots. "So was that why you were so upset last night?"

Writ arched a brow. "You cried?"

"I didn't cry!" Corbin snapped suddenly, feeling his face turn red. "I just put a lot of work into that model."

Cheryl just patted his shoulder. "Well, I guess its ok," she said, looking to the store owner. "Um, I didn't get your name. Mr.?"

"Writ. Writ Butler." He gave a warm smile. "Hope you don't mind. Was hoping he'd start today. Get the bearings here and then start working afternoons and weekends. Usually our busier hours."

"I'm sure we can think of something. He has his license so he can drive."

"Just don't have a car of my own," Corbin grumbled.

"Sure we can work something out," Writ said. "Closing hours at eight."

**OOO**

After some further discussion, Cheryl took off, promising to come back before eight to pick Corbin up. And from there, Corbin learned the ups and downs of working in the store. Then came the maintenance work on the Plavsky Particle generator. Of course neither were qualified for the job, but some small know how didn't hurt. Mostly what not to mess with and what to do should something happen.

By lunch time, they got a few customers. Nothing he didn't see coming of course. People of all ages came in, though very few bought anything. Mostly the kids who came in looking to buy a Gunpla. Corbin gave them a hand, suggesting what to start with so they got used to it. Something simple of course. They had a small demonstration booth with a partially complete RX-78 Gundam. Even gave some small safety tips.

Writ watched from afar, and nodded in approval. The kid knew his stuff. Seemed to get along well with the kids too.

Time passed, some purchases were made. Corbin did a fine job and the time was winding down. And as it was nearing closing time, Cheryl Reese returned to pick up her son. There was still thirty minutes till closing, but Writ allowed it. And as Corbin was nearing his mom's car, he took notice of a small group of people approaching the store. He paused and watched Writ open the door, allowing them to come in even though the open light was turned off. Then he remembered what Writ and Goku had talked about from before. They must be coming for the 'party' that was suppose to take place in the basement area.

"Mom," Corbin called, turning back to his mother. "Can we stick around for a little bit. There's something I want to check out."

"What is it?" she asked, taking notice of another group of people starting to show up. Some didn't look too… savory. Who has a mohawk these days? And a pink one at that… that poor girl's parents…

"Its like a gathering of like minded people," Corbin said. "Just a few minutes, please? There's something I want to check out." He hardly heard his mom as he rushed back towards the store. He slowly followed the crowd in and towards the stairs to the basement area. He acted normal descending down and took in the now brightly lit basement area. The tables were quickly filled with guests and a few stood close to the battle simulator. "Wow," he said, already seeing a match begin. Nothing too note worthy, but it was still entertaining seeing a Zaku II duke it out with an Enact in a space environment. He flinched as the crowd gave a cheer as the Enact landed a blow to the Zaku's shield arm, severing it in a fiery explosion.

"Corbin!"

The teen turned and found Writ, handing out can drinks to some of the crowd. Non alcoholic drinks of course, since he was seeing a teen or two in the crowd there as well. When he finished he approached, handing the boy a Coke. Corbin took it, flinging some of the condensation off his hands after he popped it open. "Sticking around?" he asked, looking to the fight as the Zaku had managed to get a few good shots in on the Enact, taking it's leg off.

The new employee shook his head. "Wish I could, but I can only hang out for a few minutes. Moms still in the parking lot waiting for me." He looked about the room. "Does it always get this crowded?"

Writ shrugged. "Sometimes. Few know about this. I try to keep it low key so only a select few know about it. Goku should be arriving shortly though. Chichi let him off the leash early."

"I've got next fight!"

All turned and looked up to see the spiky haired Goku as he leapt down from the top of the stairs, down to the floor below. Standing straight, fist on his hip, he thrust his hand out revealing his Shining Gundam… an orange and blue Shining Gundam with what looked to be a red bo-staff strapped to its back. He got a few cheers and cries of approval when everyone recognized him.

The spotlight on him was short lived and most turned back to the fight. Goku joined in, greeting a few of the others who he was familiar with. Writ passed him a bottle water once Goku turned down a can drink. Corbin turned away, and found himself looking at the glass display case against the wall. Again he took notice of the older models that dated back before Gunpla battles, to the more recent ones. Most kept to the traditional colors, but few were colored differently. A black Shenlong Gundam did look pretty cool.

His eyes quickly landed on a pair of custom Astray Gundams. One was obvious a red frame, but where it should be white, the colors were black and seemed to carry only the katana which came with the model. The standard V-crest on the head was switched for a longer, thinner version. Where there would normally be either the custom Aile flight pack Astrays would use, was replaced with a matching set of wings that obviously came from the Destiny Gundam. Beneath it was a small plaque label giving the Gunpla its name: _'Karasu Astray Frame'_.

It's twin was opposite in color, still sporting the white armor but instead of the inner frame being red, blue, gold, green, purple, or grey to see what of the Astray models it used to be, the color was silver. The V-crest was gone, leaving the forehead plating smooth. Twin Schneider combat knives were mounted on the legs and a set of rear stabilizers were mounted on the back hip. A set of claws were mounted on the back of the arms and looked to flip out for close quarters combat. Other than that, the frame carried the traditional shield and beam riffle for its complete armament. The plaque below it said _'Ookami Astray Frame'_.

A tap on his shoulder nearly caused Corbin to jump and he spun around, and there standing before him was the woman who sported the pink mohawk. Up close he took in her blue eyes and nose piercing. She wore a black vest, zipped up to her neck and didn't seem to have anything else underneath. Hands and arms were covered by black fingerless gloves and fishnet sleeves. A short skirt stopped just above her knees while the rest of her legs were covered in calf length boots with an assortment of buckles that didn't seem to serve any purpose but to look cool. "Hey, your new," she said, slight accent to her voice that he didn't recognize. "Never seen ya 'ere before. Got a name?"

"Corbin Reese," he said quickly, trying not to let his eyes wonder around. She did seem a bit attractive, if not a bit intimidating. There was some muscle tone to her that added some exoticness to her. "I started working here today with Writ."

"Awe, 'e did say 'e hired someone." She glanced over at the display case. "Seein' his work?" She watched Corbin nod. "Aye, tha' silver one be Writ's. The other one be his friend Josh."

"Bailey?" Corbin asked, making sure it was the same Josh.

"Aye, the same. They were a team once."

"What happened?"

The woman shrugged. "Don't know." She turned, casting an eye to said host, watching him cheer on for another fight that Corbin hadn't been aware had started. It was Goku's Shinning Gundam up against a white BMS-008 Rogue Bat from Gundam Age -EXA-LOG-. The battlefield was within a colony shaft, and Goku was obviously having the upper hand with his quick, blitzkrieg attacks. When he came in fast with another attack, Writ gave a hefty cheer with a big smile on his face. "You'd 'ave to ask 'em yerself."

**OOO**

Corbin didn't stay too long after that, realizing he was keeping his mother waiting. He didn't even get that woman's name. He went home in silence, staring out the window as his thoughts ran over those two Gunplas, the conversation he had with Josh. He had explained to Corbin that Writ and his friends had all gone their separate ways in life, few keeping in touch. Maybe that was what had happened to him and Josh, though he still appeared every so often. But he did say he dabbled in Gunpla still, due to Writ getting him almost anything he wanted for free.

It was a bit confusing, but not enough to keep him up at night. He had finished his first day of work, and would return in the morning to continue, and hopefully get Writ to allow him to leave with the Zeta so he can begin early on it's construction. Seeing some of the works he had in the display case got him thinking of some ideas and figured he'd make an even better Blue Zeta. And considering he had time till next years tournament, he'd make it perfect. Maybe even more for backup purposes. But that would also mean he'd have to work longer at the hobby store. Was he really going to go through his entire summer working for models at Writ's store? He was sure his parents would rather he worked for actually money. But they didn't know what came with the prestige of winning the Gunpla Battle Championship. He'd be set for life.

So he had to work hard. And with Writ properly training him, he'd get better. He'd get stronger. And he'd win.

**OOO**

Day two, Corbin was quick to get up, even though he wasn't due to work till after twelve. He hoped that Writ would allow him to get a head start on his Zeta before working. Hence his early arrival. He expected his new boss to be up and ready for the day. What he didn't expect though was to see his boss standing at the entrance of his shop, arms crossed and a scowl on his face that could make a grown man cry. Lucky for Corbin, it wasn't aimed at him, but at another individual who stood some distance away.

He was obviously of Japanese descent and dressed in a dark blue dress suit. His long hair hung down, hiding his eyes from view, but Corbin swore he'd seen him before. In his hand Corbin could plainly see a gunpla. A highly damaged one at that. More than half its head was missing, and he could only make out one leg and it too showed signs of a battle. The guy held a slightly disappointed look on his face, or what Corbin could tell.

"You got your answer," Writ spoke, arms dropping to his sides. "You can go now."

"I still don't understand," the unknown spoke. "The position I'm offering you…"

"Can go to someone else, I don't care."

Corbin watched the exchange silently, not sure as to what he stumbled upon.

"You have such talent and skill. There are plenty of those at the academy that could benefit from your teachings."

Writ scoffed. For a second, Corbin could see his eyes dart to him, then back to the guy in the blue suit. "Yea, and I've seen the end result of those that graduate from your little 'academy'. They become arrogant and selfish. They look and speak down to others who put their all into their builds and try to scare them away from any chance of showing what they can do. I should know, I've beaten enough of them after their trash talks."

The stranger looked like he took a hit by that remark, his stance shifting slightly. "Another reason you should be there. You, someone they do not know, could show them the humility that they need to be taught."

"Then you teach'em," Writ said, with a wave of his arm. "You're the Mahjong master, or whatever the hell they call you back in Japan." His scowl seemed to deepen after he made that comment. "Something I find utterly ridiculous." He turned slightly, but continued to glare at the foreigner. "You come here wanting to see who messed up your Academy's students and think with your 'so-important title' that I'd fawn over you like the rest of 'em?"

That seemed to irk the stranger for some reason, and he seemed to take a threatening step forward till Writ did the same, both pausing after said single step. Silence fell as the two stared at one another, the stranger's grip on his gunpla tightening till it seemed he'd crush it in his grip. But he stopped and stepped away. His gaze turned slightly to Corbin. Green eyes locked with his blue and again the teen swore he'd seen him somewhere.

The stranger turned and walked to black sedan. As he opened the driver side door, he paused to give Writ one more glare, before climbing in.

Corbin began to approach Writ as he heard the stranger's engine start up. He looked to see him pull in reverse, then spin out before heading for the parking lot exit. When Corbin turned back to Writ, he was still staring a hole into the retreating vehicle and it's driver. The glare he was giving quickly disappeared when he looked to Corbin. "You're early." He stepped back, holding the door open for the new employee.

"Thought I'd see if I can get an early start on my gunpla before I clock in," Corbin said as he entered. Corbin saw nothing out of the ordinary once inside. Considering how the two had been talking, he half expected the store being trashed from a brawl. But everything was in order. "Mind if I ask what all that was about?"

Writ shrugged his shoulders. "Just a guy wanting me to quit my job here to go work at some school in Japan. Told him he could shove it. Didn't like my verbal answer so we had a quick battle." Writ turned his head slightly, a loud pop echoing in the silent store. "He lost." Writ left it at that as he moved to the stairs. "Need to prep the machine. Got a group coming to use it in a few." He looked to Corbin. "I know you're not clocked in yet, but could you watch the door till I'm done?"

Corbin nodded. "Sure." He circled the front counter while Writ went down stairs. He sighed, eyes dancing about the store with his hands tapping against the counter glass. That stopped as his thoughts lingered on what he saw only a minute ago. He had definitely seen that guy somewhere before. But where?

A ding from the door alerted him of the first customer of the day. He stood up from his seat and gave a welcoming smile. In walked a trio of girls and two guys around his age. None of them looked familiar, leaving him to believe they were from a different school. Shaking that observation aside, he cleared his throat and said, "Hello, welcome to _Mega Gear Hobbies_. Can I help you with anything?"

One of the girls with short red hair approached, brushing her hair behind an ear. "Hello," she greeted with a smile that made Corbin's heart skip a beat. "We reserved the Battle System this morning."

Corbin gave a nod. "R-right. My boss is currently prepping the machine now. Just around the corner there and down the stairs."

"Thanks," she said again with a smile, and turned to her friends. With a nod, she led the group on towards the system.

Corbin watched them disappear around the corner, and let out a sigh.

"Goin' to ask the lass out?"

Corbin nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice and turned to see mohawk girl from the other night. Except her hair was yellow this time instead of pink. Not blonde, yellow! She wore cutoff shorts and a red tank top, standing in ankle high boots. Decorative bracelets adorned each wrist and she still sported the same piercing as before. In her hand she carried a large bag that had two boxes stacked inside. "I just met her," Corbin said, nodding to the bag afterwards. "Whatcha got there?"

She held the bag away in a hug, sly smile on her face. "Merchandise," she replied. "Somethin' for 'er boss."

The young employee arched a brow. "Oh. You want me to go get him?"

"Nah," she said with a wave and a smile. "I'll wait for 'em. Customers an' all that." With that, she marched towards the Gunpla in the back.

Corbin made a mental note to remember her and listed her under the possible crazy people that would be arriving from time to time along side Goku.

A few minutes later and Writ returned, quietly closing the door behind him. He looked to Corbin with a nod, a sign he was relieved of duty till his actual appointed work time, and turned to the woman who's name Corbin still didn't get. Corbin was out of ear shot when Writ approached the woman, friendly smile on his face. She smiled back, hand reaching our to rest on his chest. She gave a playful shove as the two spoke, and then held out the bag with the two boxes inside. Writ looked a bit excited, and the two moved towards the front counter, where Corbin tried to play off that he was watching the whole time.

"You still up here?" Writ asked. "Thought you were going to work on your model."

"Its downstairs and I didn't want to bother the group…"

"You'll be fine, just don't go jumping in on their work," he said teasingly.

Corbin frowned. "Not going to make that mistake again," he grumbled.

Writ beamed and threw his arms out. "See? I've taught you a good lesson already." His smile dropped when the girl elbowed him in the side. "Ouch."

"Don' be 'urtin 'eh lad's feelin's now, Writ," she said, waving a finger at him. She turned an apologetic smile to Corbin. "Tol' me all 'bout it." She looked back at Writ with a frown. "Bein' too rough wit' ya." She gave him another elbow. "Big jerk."

Writ frowned and nodded back at the door. "Go on, kid. Got to get started on that Gunpla of yours before your shift starts. And save some time at lunch, because I've got a surprise in store for you."

Corbin did as requested and left the two, wondering what their relationship was. Could the two possibly be an item of sorts? He shook the thought aside as he descended down the stairs, taking quiet steps to ensure he didn't disturb the group. The surrounding area was dimly lit by normal lights by the main glow of the room came from particle machine. The whole group was packed together on the machine, each having their own Gunpla out on the field. Surprisingly, neither one was fighting.

Corbin watched silently as they appeared to be… rehearsing? He looked to the Gunplas and noticed each one was an SD based Gunpla, but customized to look like something out of a fantasy. Even equipped with swords, shields, axes, bo-staffs…

The environment was a scaled version of a heavily wooded forest and the group was discussing a scene involving the 'group of heroes' on the move to vanquish the 'dark lord'. They even tended to pause in order to get their lines right whenever they missed one or said it wrong.

Slowly moving away to go work on his model, Corbin looked back at the group and noticed the redhead from before and her Gunpla, which looked to be like an SD knight with bright green eyes that looked to have long eye lashes to give it a more feminine appeal. The armor was a bright red and held a clear pink long sword which had a crystalline appearance.

He shook his head and decided to focus on his model. But even when he began his work, his ears picked up on the group behind him. They still didn't battle and continued to be acting out something like an RP even after his free time was up and had to clock in for the day ahead.

**OOO**

It was an hour or so later before the group left, the lot of them conversing on the 'next scene' and whatnot, which still confused Corbin. So he went to the only source of information he had at his disposal. "Hey Writ, what was that group doing?"

The store owner arched a brow and looked from the current Gunpla magazine he had in his hands and over to his first and only employee. The girl with the yellow mohawk was long gone and so left the two of them alone in the store. "What do you mean?" he asked, closing the magazine and setting it down on the counter.

"Well… they weren't battling," Corbin said with a shrug. "If anything, they looked to be acting out an RP."

Writ looked away in thought for a second before giving a nod of his head. "That just about sums it up really," he answered.

Corbin blinked. "Role Playing?" he asked which Writ gave a nod. "With Gunpla?"

"Do you find it so surprising?" Writ asked with a grin. "Not everyone uses Gunpla for battling purposes only. Some use it for other reasons."

"Like makings AMVs and role playing?"

"Exactly." Writ leaned in close with a smirk, taking up a pen from the counter and pointed it at Corbin, forcing the boy to lean back slightly. "They only advertise Gunpla with battles, but do any of the companies out there advertise Gunpla in a different fashion? No." He leaned away, dropping the pen on the counter and crossed his arms. "People around the world don't just battle with Gunpla. Just like how some don't battle at all. Some just build for the fun of it. Others, like you saw, use Plavsky Particles to act out things they couldn't in the real world through their Gunpla. That group from earlier actually have a web series where they use their SD Gunpla in a fantasy based setting. Its gotten quite popular."

"Web series?" Corbin asked a bit non-believing. "And people actually watch it?"

Writ gave a shrug. "You'd be surprised."

**OOO**

Lunch time finally arrived, with Writ ordering a pizza for the two. Josh had arrived and sat in for Writ and Corbin while the two were down in the basement area. After stuffing their faces, Writ lead Corbin to particle generator and handed him a box. Puzzled, Corbin looked to his boss, who nodded. Corbin opened the lid and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw what was inside. Their lying on a foam bedding was a gray and white toned Zeta! And below it was a GP Base.

"Now first, I'm going to point out that this is simply a loaner for you to practice with till you get yours completed," Writ stated. "Hence why its so plain colored. The GP Base you can keep." With that, he flicked the machine on and the bright glow of Plavsky Particles filled the room. "Lets get started."

Corbin took out the Zeta and placed it on the machine. The AI's voice advised placing the GP Base which Corbin did. It followed by announcing the area, Field 3. He was quickly surrounded by the particle field with the control orbs materializing in front of him. The minute he took control, several screens appeared with the Zeta's eyes glowing yellow. Corbin smiled as he could see through the eyes of his Gunpla. "Okay," he said quietly to himself. "Lets go. Corbin Reese, Zeta Gundam. Launch!"

With a simple move of his wrists, Corbin launched the Zeta Gundam out into the scaled forest area. Flying over and clear of the trees, Corbin landed the Zeta down into an open area next to a stream. He took a second to marvel at the machine at his command, taking notice of how fluid the movements felt. "So this is a Gunpla built by Writ?" He had to admit, the comparison to his own style was staggering. With how the Zeta moved, you'd think it was alive.

"You ready kid?" Writ asked.

Corbin looked around, trying to find his employer when a shadow zipped overhead. His radar picked up what was tagged as a friendly IFF signal and he looked in the direction, seeing something turn sharp and fly towards him. As it approached, the shape changed from what looked to be an Mobile Armor mode to Mobile Suit. It landed in a crouch in front of the Zeta, and Corbin took in the site of a ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam. There was no deviation from its original look and the detail into its construction and coloring was ahead of Corbin's skill.

"You ready?" Writ asked, snapping Corbin out of his silent admiration for the Gunpla.

"What happened to your Astraea?"

Writ gave a shrug. "I may have won that little battle this morning, but it doesn't mean my Nemesis Astraea didn't take a beating too. So it's up for repairs. Till then, I'm using some of my other Gunpla. Now, you ready or not?"

With a small smirk and a nod, Corbin hunched the Zeta slightly, ready to draw its saber. "Yea, lets go." The Saviour stood straight, hand resting on its hip as Writ gave a laugh. Corbin blinked. "What's so funny?"

"You've got to learn how to crawl before you can walk, kid," Writ said. "Check your settings. The automatic stabilizers on?"

Corbin stared at the Seed Destiny Gunpla before him, before looking to his settings. Clicking through the controls, he did find the stabilizers and did see they were active. "Yea."

"Good. Now deactivate them."

"What? If I do that, the Zeta will…"

"Yea, yea, I know. It'll fall. Plavsky Particles give the Gunpla a more realistic setting, so a stabilizer would exist to aid in the battler's control." The Saviour pointed at the Zeta. "But it hinders them, makes their moves a bit lagging 'cause the system keeps wanting to adjust on its own. We're going to fix that first before you learn anything else. Like I said. Got to learn how to crawl before you can walk. And when you learn how to walk, then you can run." Writ smiled. "And when you can run, then you'll learn to fly." The Saviour gave a wave. "Now shut it off and save that setting to your GP Base. When I'm done with you, that Zeta will dance in the palm of your hands."

With a sigh, Corbin did as ordered. And as expected, the Zeta wobbled and then began to tilt forward. Corbin attempted to stop the fall, but only ended up tilting backwards instead. Again he moved to catch himself till it ending up flopping over on its side and landing at the edge of the river. Corbin groaned in annoyance and moved his machine to stand, only for the legs to wobble and for him to stumble further into water. The rush of the current knocked his Gunpla back down. Noticing the current was beginning to drag him further down, Corbin had a mild panic attack before he remembered it wasn't real.

Writ however took notice when the Zeta began to thrash about and couldn't help but laugh. His Saviour moved into the water, grabbing the Zeta's arm and dragging it back to shore. With practice ease he pulled the Zeta up and held it steady. "Didn't think it was going to be easy, did you?"

"How does this help me?" Corbin asked with a tone of frustration.

"Got to learn how to move before you can fight. Real fighters don't let the machine or the simulation control their Gunpla. They do."

"So… your Gunpla…"

"Doesn't have its stabilizers on. None of them do." He held the Zeta up straighter. "Now, again, but slowly. Throttle back a bit otherwise you'll just launch yourself forward."

"But the Zeta isn't exactly built for ground combat."

"Can't be in the air forever, kid," Writ said, moving the Saviour forward as it assisted the Zeta, catching it again as it nearly tumbled. "Most of the time you'll need to be grounded for the fighting. And the Zeta is a general use MS, so get used to being on the ground."

**To Be Continued…**

**Been wanting to do this for some time now. And didn't really get the nerve to do it till reading so many fan fictions based on the series. I wanted to get something that had multiple animes crossed over onto GBF, like the cameos from the first series with characters from other Gundam series, but with different animes instead. As you can see, Goku has made an appearance, and Chichi will as well. I'll be trying to match characters with Gunpla I'd think they would have that reflects their respective series. Already have an idea for Kill la Kill, so expect at least three characters from that one showing up. Have fun guessing who.**

**But aside from Kill la Kill, I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas of what other animes to use. So if you've got an idea of one, lay one on me.**


	2. Learned to Dance?

**Gundam Build Fighter N**

I do not own Gundam or any other anime/cartoon/comic/manga/game characters that appear in this fan fiction. Enjoy.

**Chapter 02: Learned to… dance?**

The city of New York was ablaze, illuminating the night sky. From the center of a roaring fire that was consuming half the city, Nemesis Astraea burst from a cloud of smoke and debris, gunning in towards its feminine opponent. GN Sword drawn, it clashed with a modified purple beam scythe. The opposing Gunpla, a modified Nobel called the Gundam Dullahan spun around with a kick, but the Nemesis Astraea blocked with its shield, bashing the Dullahan aside, GN Sword Kai extended to deliver a thrust to the cockpit. The Dullahan back peddled away to gain some distance, black simulated hair cables and tattered cloak flapping in the wind around it. Beneath said clock, one could point out the similarities to another Gunpla aside the obvious Nobel Gundam Base. The sailor fuku design was gone, replaced with a longer armored skirt, but this one resembling none other than the Gundam Deathscythe Hell, aiding in a more feminine reaper look.

As the Dullahan flew back and away from the charging Astraea, it let loose a heat-rod whip from its left arm, said weapon wrapping around the Astraea's sword wielding arm. The Astraea paused, pulling hard onto the heat-rod while the Dullahan pulled toward itself. The Astraea proved the stronger, slowly dragging the Dullahan closer, but while it struggled to hold off the Astraea, it's head disconnected and flew into the air, hair trailing behind it. The separated head zipped through the air, face guard opening to reveal a toothy maw much similar to a Gundam Head from Mobile Fighter G Gundam. Yellow energy gathered in it's mouth. At its peak, it fired the beam down towards the Astraea, which dove out of the way of the attack. When the beam struck the ground, a massive explosion engulfed the area. The Dullahan pulled it's heat-rod back, and jumped away as the Astraea disappeared in the blinding light of the blast.

The separated head flew back to the body, reattaching to the neck piece to be whole once again. With a quick burst of it's jets, the Gundam rocketed into the air only to land safely on the roof of one of the many buildings that surrounded them. It scanned the area for the Astraea, knowing that the Gunpla wasn't destroyed as the winner of the match wasn't declared.

It wasn't long before the Astraea burst from the smoke below, shield to the front as it burned a red glare from its optics at the Dullahan. The feminine suit ignited the beam scythe and swung down as the enemy Gunpla came within reach. It gave a faint, dodging to the side in a spin to avoid the ignited purple beam. When it spun around to swing its weapon in a horizontal swipe, it paused when it could clearly see an ignited red saber across it's field of vision, gripped in the left hand. The GN Sword Kai was extended, tip of the blade aimed only inches from the cockpit.

With a sigh Lala Le Fay conceded to defeat, declaring Writ as the winner of the match. Particles disappearing, their Gunpla were left the in the same position they had ended it, though their beam weaponry was no longer active without the use of particles. Lala approached, hands on hips. Today's hairstyle was different than the norm. Mohawk was gone, her hair somehow magically turning white and having gotten so long, it passed her lower back. Corbin a day earlier learned she actually shaved her head and would wear wigs. She said it was easier to deal with than dying her hair and/or waiting for it to grow. Writ said it was 'cutting' out the middle man. She had elbowed him for the bad joke.

The match was to see if the Nemesis Astraea was ready for any future battles after it's completed repairs. The original Proto GN Blade was replaced with a new GN Sword Kai, the green edge of the blade replaced with a red/orange one. Lala of course also wanted to showcase her newly completed Gunpla, the Dullahan. Though she had high hopes she'd beat him with the head separating like it did.

"What did you expect?" Writ said, taking up his Astraea. "You called it 'Dullahan'. I know Irish lore." He approached her as she took up her own Gunpla. He gently reached out to take the Gunpla, and her hand, in his to examine it. The blush on her face went unnoticed. "Though it is a pretty awesome design. Never seen a Gunpla's head come off like that except from the Zeong."

"Thank ye'," she said as Writ released her hand. Though she still sported her piercing, her attire was slightly different from the normal punk girl look she sported the first week Corbin had met her. Today was more gothic Lolita with a short frilly skirt and black thigh stockings. She still wore the boots with multiple buckles however along with long black fingerless gloves.

Writ approached Corbin, setting the Nemesis Astraea next to Corbin's training Gray Zeta. Corbin had watched the match on the screen to the side of the room, and his jaw was still dropped from the fight. The two had been fighting for over fifteen minutes, exchanging blows throughout New York City, which simply left it on fire. Such a scary scene. When he looked to Lala, she was wiping her forehead of a few beads of sweat. She even looked tired. Writ however, didn't even look like he had been in a battle.

"Now with that being said and done," Writ said, digging into his back pockets. He quickly drew out three tickets.

To Corbin, he didn't know what it meant. Though he did see the standard design of a Gundam's head stamped onto each ticket. Lala though, seemed to flash step up next to Writ from across the room, snatching the tickets from his hand. "Ye got'em!" Her arms instantly wrapped around his neck, her lips planting on his cheek, leaving purple lipstick as her mark. Writ nearly lost his glasses from the sudden assault. "I can' believ' ye got'em!"

"Months in advance," Writ admitted, smile on his face.

"What are they?" Corbin asked, eyeing the tickets.

"Tickets to your next test, kid," Writ said, plucking two of the tickets from Lala's hands. She beamed when he said, "That one's yours." He turned and held one out to Corbin. "And this one is yours."

Taking it carefully, Corbin examined the white and red ticket with a Gundam's head. In obvious Gundam font, was stamped _'Gunpla World Atlanta'_. Flipping it over he said the standard rules of trying to copy and distribute said copies of the ticket and what the punishment was, along with a barcode and assorted numbers that didn't mean much to him. "What is _'Gunpla World Atlanta'_?"

"It's a surprise. And NO cheating by looking it up online." Writ waved a finger in Corbin's direction as he moved to the stairs. Lala skipped after him, still beaming with her ticket in hand.

"And I've only been working here for a week. How'd you have me planned in this if you got these months ago?"

"Josh was going to come with us, but he's got family plans."

The three moved to the top floor, Josh again sitting behind the front counter dealing with a customer. Said customer paid for his model, a plane Corbin wasn't familiar, and said his goodbye as he made for the door. It was nearing the weekend. Customers were coming and going, though most were just looking. Being summer, most were kids or teens trying to pass the time or checking to see what Gunpla they could buy or what they would wish to buy.

During that week though, Corbin hardly had time to work on his Zeta. What time he did have was spent in his training regiment with Writ and learning the proper use of the GP Base. Corbin hadn't paid much attention to the small device in the past, never realizing it played a major part in a Gunpla's capabilities. Gunplas didn't just go in and know what it was you wanted them to do. For the Gunpla to fight the way you want it to, or to use the weapons it had equipped, one had to program the GP Base. Writ had compared it to a tuner that's used on cars to program the computer to certain settings you'd like to set it at. This allowed the Battler to use special types of ammunition, or new weapons that didn't initially come with the Gunpla. Even power output for the beam weaponry.

Corbin's world had completely flipped after learning so much technical know how was needed for custom made Gunplas like Lala's Dullahan. Some would take hours properly tweaking and testing the settings in order to get their Gunpla the way they wanted it. Not to mention the other uses the GP Base had. It even acted like a phone!

Knowing that, Corbin felt embarrassed that he had gone up against Writ with a basic Zeta with basic settings. Though he still felt he would have lost even if his Gunpla had been custom. Even worse had he gone and fought in the regional's.

Speaking of which, he hadn't let that slip him by. Week one had ended and a good handful of Battlers were showing promise to go on to state. From there on would be the nationals, followed by the World Championship. Looking at the list of names that were progressing to the next phase of the tournament, Corbin couldn't identify a single one. Leading him to believe no one from his area had made it through.

Corbin looked to Lala as they approached the front counter, Josh again attending to another customer, this one buying a Gunpla. She looked over to Writ, again thanking him for the ticket, and then turned to leave the store, her fake hair bouncing with each step. She waved bye to Corbin and Josh and disappeared for the remainder of the day.

Writ approached the counter, stopping to wish the customer a good day. Once they were alone, he leaned against the counter, a big grin on his face. "I'm telling ya, Corbin, it's going to be a fun weekend."

"Wait, this weekend?" Corbin asked. Writ gave a nod. "That might be a problem. I mean, I have to get my parents permission first…"

"Already taken care of," Writ said, turning away and heading to the back to examine the Gunpla.

Corbin quickly chased after him. Josh continued to sit behind the counter, taking up a another manga to read. "What do you mean you've taken care of it?"

"Gave your parents a call the other night," Writ explained, looking over an 00 Gunpla. "Told them I had a business trip planned this weekend and that I would like you to attend."

Thinking back on it, Corbin did remember hearing his mother speaking over the phone with someone, but didn't bother to ask. He figured it was his aunt from Orlando calling about them visiting during the summer like they usually did. "So I've got the okay from them to go?"

"They thought it was a little odd for you to be going so soon in your employment, but I explained that this would be a good chance to learn a thing or two about the business world." Writ snickered to himself. "She did find it funny that they had business conventions for models. I told her it was the big thing these days. Which," he said gesturing to the wall of Gunpla, "wasn't a complete lie." He turned completely to focus on Corbin, arms crossed. "So give me an update on your Zeta."

Corbin smiled a little at the question. "Closer to completion. I spend a good portion of my time getting it ready. Painting is complete and the body is put together. Very well I might add. Just have to finish the weapons and it'll be combat ready."

Writ arched a brow with a smug grin on his face. "I'll be the judge of that. But until you're finished you'll continue to practice with the Zeta I gave you, got it?"

Corbin nodded, which Writ returned in kind before taking up the 00 and headed for the stairs. Watching his boss taking off with the Gunpla, Corbin couldn't help but think that he was going to upgrade from the Astraea.

**NNN**

Far off to the country of Japan, a limo slowed to a stop just in front of the worldly esteemed Gunpla Academy. Standing to the side as it came to a complete stop was none other than Allen Writs. The current coach to the academy's three man team for the newly established school competitions. He smiled as the rear passenger door opened and out stepped none other than Tatsuya Yuuki, or more famously known as Meijin Kawaguchi. As the young man exited the limo, the driver retrieving his bag and placing it down at the curb, the Meijin smiled at his long time friend. The two quickly greeting one another wit a handshake. "Wasn't expecting to see you here, Allen," Tatsuya said, taking up his single piece of luggage as the two moved up the front steps of the academy.

"I haven't heard any updates on your journey to America till you called about your return," Allen said, giving a soft smile to his friend. "And so soon too. I half expected you would have been gone for another few days." When he didn't see his friend smile back, he frowned. "I'm guessing it didn't go as well as you thought it would. Recruiting Mr. Butler into our academy, I mean."

Tatsuya shook his head as they entered. "No. He nearly refused on the spot, but had listened in on my proposal anyway. We even had a battle during the impromptu interview." And what a battle it was. Tatsuya began to wonder if he was sitting at a desk too much these days. Thinking back on the battle, he had left himself open far too many times. Openings Writ Butler did not hesitate to exploit.

"A battle you say?" Allen asked, his grin returning. "And how did that go? The students that he beat said that he was a monster on the battlefield." Which was not too surprising. A group of their students had taken off early for a summer break with their families. Rich pampered kids who paid their way into the academy. Upon their return though, they had spoken about being stuck in some small town in the south when they were on a road trip to Florida. And during their stay, they had taken part in some battles to pass the time. Even spoke of their attendance at the academy, but Allen was sure they were bragging about it. And after winning their fifth team match, a stranger in glasses approached. Never said anything and just entered the system for a fight. And there was no lying to their claim when they said he had beaten all of them on his own in only a few minutes. Their GP Bases had kept the battle time recorded from beginning to end.

And they were some of their best, he would add. And being familiar with them, Allen was sure they had boasted quite a bit before being soundly defeated on a battle systems highest difficulty.

Tatsuya's head dipped slightly, pausing in his step. "It was a fierce battle. One I won't forget because it reminded me of the battle I had with Sei and Reiji. Only reverse."

Allen blinked. "You mean the Embody System?" He gasped when Tatsuya nodded.

"In our battle, I could feel so much anger behind his blows. His machine's power reflected it with each attack and I had a difficult time countering him."

"How… did it end?" To be honest, Allen wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"I lost," he said, pulling out his personal Gunpla carrying case and handing it to Allen.

The blonde man took the case and opened it up to see the contents inside. His eyes widened when he took in the remains of Tatsuya's Amazing Exia R2, the Gunpla he had been using since his loss to Sei. Allen would dare say it was in worse condition than the first Amazing Exia.

"But I did learn something from him though," Tatsuya said, with a hint of a smile on his face. "I still have some things yet to learn. And I need to stop sitting at a desk. I'm getting rusty." He looked back to Allen. "Make sure none of the other students hear about this though. The last thing we need is for one of our other students going across the ocean just to pick a fight with someone who may just come over here and fight the entire school." He turned to continue on towards the building area, an idea of a new machine coming to mind. Something in red. "Though I think I would like to see that fight," he said with a smile.

**NNN**

Time went by in a daze, and Corbin stood in front of his house with a bag in hand. Writ said he was going to pick him up for their drive to Atlanta, but he wasn't expecting it to be at four in the morning. His eyes would blink, one at a time, out of exhaustion and he had to catch himself at least twice from falling asleep while standing. But it was the sound of an engine roar that awoke him fully, and he turned to see a black muscle car of years long past role up. Not being a big car buff himself, he couldn't really place the exact year, but he was sure that most car bodies of that design no longer were made of heavy metal.

The engine still going, Writ climbed out and pulled the seat forward for Corbin to climb in the back. "Come on, we got to go!" he cried out happily, Lala in the passenger side seat with a pillow between her head and the window. She was still using the silver/white wig she had been wearing as of late. "Got to beat traffic if we want to get there in time."

Corbin grumbled something as he climbed into the back, using his bag as a make shift pillow. As he closed his eyes all he heard was the door creaking and slamming shut and the loud roar of something ancient under the hood. And with that, they were off and on the road. The constant rumble of the car felt like a soothing vibration to him, and the odd chill music he played on the radio helped in completely knocking Corbin asleep.

When he awoke once more that same morning, the sun was up, casting its golden glow on a new day. Lala was awake as well, feet resting out the open passenger window, pale feet rocking from side to side at the slow music playing on the radio. The car was parked in a hotel parking lot, and Writ was nowhere to be found.

"Finally 'wake, are ye now," Lala said, looking in the review mirror to see Corbin sit up. She gave him a sweet smile. "Jus' in time too. Writ is bookin' us rooms for te weeken'. 'En he's done, off we go to '_Gunpla 'orld'_!" she cried happily, black painted toenails wiggling.

"Sounds good," Corbin groaned, giving his body a stretch. "He drove all night?"

"Aye. 'e's the type to drive fer 'ours. Loves the wind in his 'air and all."

"That and the looks on peoples faces when seeing a classic car like mine rolling around. It eats gas like I eat Subway, but man does it turn heads." Writ approached the car, big grin on his face. The old door creaked as he pulled it open, and creaked again as he slammed it shut. He looked back to Corbin. "Glad to see you're awake."

Corbin narrowed his eyes. "Attention whore," he mumbled, and looked around. "So are we going inside?"

"Hell no," Writ said. "We've got the rooms, but we're going to go ahead and hit _GWA_ early. Got to see the look on your face when we get inside."

Corbin didn't bother to ask. He was sure Writ wasn't going to explain a thing to him. Lala pulled her feet back in and clicked on her seatbelt. The old car roared to life and soon sped out of the parking lot. Corbin had never really left home, so seeing Atlanta in person for the first time was interesting. The people were no different than back home but the tall buildings were interesting to look at. Quickly though they were already passing through Atlanta and Corbin took in a site of a massive dome structure in the distance. Around it were numerous smaller domes, and tents. As they drew closer, he could see hundreds of people milling about from either of the domes or the tents, ages ranging all over.

Corbin's eyes were mainly focused on the massive done itself, a build board of the RX-78 Gundam on its surface. He never realized the car had been parked till Writ tapped him on the shoulder. Writ then instructed that they leave their things, but bring their Gunpla and GP Base.

The trip on foot took longer than Corbin had hoped. And as they drew closer he saw a line far too long for his liking. But surprise, surprise! Writ grinned and just simply passed everyone, ticket in hand and at the ready. Lala the same. Corbin dug his out and handed to the man at the front of the line, a chorus of aggravated groans were heard from the line. Corbin could feel their glares as he followed his companions inside, and was met with nothing but a wave of blue light. His jaw dropped at the sight of what had to be the largest Plavsky Particle projector he had ever seen. It seemed to stretch from one end of the dome building to the other. The light was so bright, he could hardly see the field of battle, but from what he could hear, there was no sound of fighting at all.

"Ok, we split up from here," Writ said, looking to the two. "Lala, keep an eye on him. Show him around." He gave her a wink, which Lala returned.

"And what about you?" Corbin asked, looking to Writ for only a second before looking back at the blue light.

"I've got someone I need to meet with. Personal issue with an old friend," Writ said, giving a wave. "It will only take a few minutes. You guys have fun."

Corbin watched Writ disappear into the crowd before feeling his arm pulled by Lala. "Ye 'eard the man!" she called over the crowd. "Let's go!"

It took a minute, but Corbin was led to a vacant spot for him to launch. Lala said she would have to find another place to launch for herself, and disappeared. Placing his GP Base, the particles appeared and isolated him from the rest of the crowd, acting as a buffer to muffle the sound. It was a low thrum behind him, allowing him to hear his own thoughts. Quickly placing his Gray Zeta on the stand, he took up the hard light orbs in his hands. "Okay," he said, a little nervous. He wasn't sure what kind of battle field he was going into, but if Writ had faith in him to do this, it was going to be ok. Maybe he was going into an open battle royal between what looked like a hundred other battlers, and could just stay at the sidelines and watch. "Gray Zeta! Launch!"

… nothing happened. He looked down at the Zeta, seeing it remain in place. "Launch!" he called again, but again the Zeta remained. He moved the orbs, and his Gunpla took a few steps forward. "Ooookay. Going to have to do it the hard way," Corbin said. The Zeta hunched low, and with a boost of its thrusters, it took off down the platform. Corbin was blinded by the sudden light of a simulated sun, though when his eyes adjusted to the light, he immediately stopped his machine.

The Gray Zeta hovered in the air and over open water, staring out towards a scaled gunpla city. It didn't match any known city he had ever seen, though he was sure it was taking a few ideas from some of the larger cities around the world. Towers of glistening glass and steel stretched into the sky, with what looked to be an orbital elevator in the center, going far up into the clouds above. Out in the bay to the far side was oddly enough a Statue of Liberty, though the toga wearing woman resembled Sayla Mass.

A small ping chimed from the hardlight dash in front of Corbin. Pressing a button at the console, a message scrolled across the screen: _"Welcome guest to Gunpla World Atlanta's largest Plavsky battle system and welcome to Gunpla City. This simulation is built for peaceful interaction between like minded individuals who wish to display, trade, and or sell Gunpla. Weapon systems are automatically deactivated. Combat is frowned upon and will not be tolerated."_ A map popped up in the corner, and in it Corbin could see designated areas within and around the city. He could see where there were fly and no fly zones, what were considered hangout areas, parks…

Corbin blinked. "What the hell is this? No combat? No fly zones? Local hangouts?"

A late warning beeped from his radar, causing Corbin to turn sharp, ready for combat even though the rules said there would be none. He watched an approaching Wing Gundam in bird mode zip past and head towards the city, followed by a Raider and two Murasames. Each one displayed the battler's names above the flying machines for only a few seconds before disappearing. He watched as they flew in formation with the Wing in front, and swoop low towards the streets. As they came in each one transformed into mobile suit mode and… walked? Looking closer, he could see many other Gunpla, all doing the same thing. As the rules had said, there was no fighting, no gun fire or sabers clashing. "What the hell is this!?"

"Thin' of it as a social hub," Lala said, her image appearing in the corner of his screen. She gave him a wink as her Dullahan Gundam approached, cloak gone to showcase its custom glory. The feminine MS moved in close, arm wrapping around the left arm of his Gray Zeta. "Don' be shy. Come on!"

Corbin allowed the Zeta to be dragged on by the Dullahan and both descended down to the streets below. Touching down, Corbin took in the works of other Gunpla builders and was surprised at all the customizations and/or stellar paint jobs. He didn't miss that many were looking in his direction; or more accurately, in the direction of Lala's Dullahan. The customized build got looks that would have normally been thrown in the direction of a hot model. Living model, not Gunpla. And it didn't go missed by Lala, who wrapped her Dullahan closer to the Gray Zeta, blowing a mock kiss from her Gunpla to the crowd. And again, Corbin could feel heated glares from the numerous Gunplas surrounding them. Even more terrifying when it came from the mono-eyed mobile suits.

"Come on!" Lala called again with a giggle, the Dullahan again beginning to drag the Gray Zeta along till Corbin got it up to match her Gunplas pace. "There be lots te see! And 're jus' getting' started!"

**NNN**

Writ moved into the booth of the Gundam themed café, the waitress placing a water in front of him. He gave a nod as his thanks as she left to let him have a moment alone to place an order. He scanned the menu, seeing several Gundam themed dishes. Simple ones like the Zaku Slammer which was a simple bacon cheese burger wit a side of fries. Tempting as it was, he truly wasn't hungry… till he saw the root beer float. There was no way he was going to pass up a root beer float.

"Writ Butler," a gruff voice spoke.

Snapped from his thoughts of such a basic, but pleasant desert, Writ tilted his head and looked up to see an older gentleman with a blue blazer and shorts on. His mouth twitched slightly, shaking the bushy mustache he sported. Writ smirked at the familiar older battler who was famous the world around. "Mr. Ral."

Mr. Ral, notably known as the Blue Giant, took a seat a cross from Writ. The man was a renowned Gunpla battler with his signature MS-07R-35 Gouf R35. It has been said only a handful of people have ever made the Blue Giant drop his shield in battle. Writ had tried in the past to be one of those people, but ultimately failed in a climatic battle inside and out of a falling colony. Needless to say, Writ had fun. "It's been a while," Ral said, hands resting on the table in front of him. "Imagine my surprise when I received a message from you asking to meet in person here to have a talk. The last time I saw you, you were battling in an airport terminal leaving from Italy."

"Two years ago, wasn't it?" Writ asked, taking a sip of his water.

Ral nodded. "Just after Nils Nielsen rediscovered Plavsky Particles and the world was able to Gunpla battle once again. I was at a convention when one of the new model battle systems were rolled in. Since it was so long since my last battle, I had to take it for a spin. As I remember it was me who had to stop you from stepping down on other battlers."

Writ narrowed his eyes. "They had it coming," he remarked, setting his glass down on a coaster. "They were shoving kids around and telling them they couldn't battle. Someone had to set them straight."

Ral frowned. "And I believe it took me to set you straight." Before could retort to the comment, Ral simply waved his hand. "But enough of the past. I heard word that Tatsuya Yuuki paid you a visit."

Writ growled in irritation. "Word travels fast." He stared at the glass for a few seconds before continuing. "He heard about the beating I gave to some of those Gunpla Academy brats and decided to see what the hype was about. Even offered me a job." That got Ral's attention, a brow arching slightly as he leaned forward slightly. "Turned him down though after I beat him into the ground."

"Though I doubt you walked away unscathed," Ral remarked, smirking slightly seeing Writ flinch at the response.

"That's… what I wanted to talk to you about," Writ said, and looked to see if they were being watched. When he saw they weren't going to be disturbed or that anyone was watching, he rolled up his sleeve, showing what looked like a nasty graze on his shoulder. "I didn't show it but during the battle I got this mark."

Ral blinked and leaned in closer, examining the wound. It had already healed a bit, but Ral could tell it had been much worse. "How?" he asked, looking back to Writ.

Writ shook his head, rolling down his sleeve. "Not sure. But I noticed it during the fight. Got another one across my back too. Each hit happened exactly at the same time Tatsuya landed a blow to my Gunpla." He sighed with a shake of his head. "Never seen anything like it. When I heard you were going to be here, I had to meet you to discuss this."

Ral leaned back in his seat as the waitress returned. He simply asked for a water, though Writ caved and ordered a root beer float. With the order taken, she again left. When she was gone from earshot, Ral looked to Writ. "This isn't the first time I have heard of this."

"So this has happened before?"

"Similar incidents have happened around the world, but each incident was small. The word used to identify it is 'Assimilation'. Those who have experienced it notice an increase in their Gunpla's performance and over all tolerance for damage, but an added effect is that their battler also feels the damage. Nothing life crippling as of yet, but it is happening more and more."

"Any known triggers?" Writ asked, now more intrigued by the concept.

"Some theorize that the trigger is Based on a level of emotion. If say you are enormously happy during a battle, the particles seem to react to the emotion, and fuel your machine."

"Then the same could be said about someone extremely angry," Writ commented, glaring at the table. "Many known I'm not a huge fan of the whole Meijin thing. They guy just rubs me the wrong way. So when he shows up at my place of business acting like he's one of us mere mortals…"

"Your anger peeked and triggered the assimilation effect."

Writ gave a snort. "Which boosted my overall performance. And here I thought I was just better than him." The thought of it left a bad taste in his mouth. He honestly thought he had bested the great Meijin Kawaguchi, only to find out he had a slight steroid boost for his machine. "So any idea what could be causing it? It never happened before the seventh Gunpla tournament, why after?"

Ral was sure he had an idea of what it was. The Plavsky particles used today would be considered artificial in comparison to the original particles which came from the crystal that was once hidden under the World Championship Stadium. Though he swore to secrecy that he would not divulge that information. Especially considering the theorized origin of the crystal. This led him to believe that the cause of the assimilation may be due to the particles. Perhaps becoming unstable maybe? Ral gave a low growl of irritation as it bugged him, but stopped as he saw Writ was waiting for a response. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I wish I had the answer myself." What else could he say?

Writ gave a sigh. "Well, I'm a bit more informed than before." From the corner of his eye he spotted the waitress approaching with his float, and gave a small smile. "Guess I'll just have to watch my emotions in battle."

Ral gave a grunt and a nod before standing. "Well, I will be off then."

"So soon?" Writ asked, the waitress setting his float before him. He gave his thanks to her with a smile, which she returned, and looked back to Ral. "You can order something, my treat."

Ral gave a hefty chuckle and a small wave of his hand. "No thanks," he said as he gave a pat to his stomach. "I'm trying to watch my weight. Maybe another time."

Writ stood up from the booth with his hand out to the older battler. "Till next time then, Mr. Ral."

Ral took his hand in a firm shake. "Till next time, Mr. Butler."

**NNN**

(Ton! Dyson &amp; Shwann - Wraith (Original Mix) [Kill Shot Exclusive]

Corbin thought he had seen it all when he found himself taking a leisurely stroll with his Gunpla down a scaled city sidewalk with his boss's… friend? Girlfriend?... Whatever she was to him… with her Gunpla and its arm around his own Gunplas. That was till the sun began to set much earlier than what it should have and Lala ended up dragging him to what was obviously a dance club. A DANCE CLUB!

Corbin's Gray Zeta stood just past the entrance after getting past a MRC-F20 Sumo bouncer. When he had entered he was immediately assaulted by flashing rainbow lights and dance music. Screens mounted on the walls showed Gundam battle clips in an AMV style. A few booths, tables and chairs were occupied with Gunpla, but what was before him was the thing he had never expected to see in his life since he started his hobby as a gunpla builder and battler. There on a dance floor were numerous Gunpla of shapes and sizes… dancing. It was an insane seen. Many customized machines, kit bashes, scratch builds… every varying type of build was there…

"This is a cluster fuck," Corbin remarked. His suit was jostled slightly as a pink Zaku made its way past him with a Hello Kitty stamp on its shield. "How… why…" His rational mind couldn't comprehend what was going on. Just couldn't. With a shake of his head he looked to his radar to try and find Lala. Unfortunately everyone in the room was registered as a friendly. Hell, everyone within the city!

Searching the crowd as the music began to shift, he spotted the cable-like hair fibers of Lala's Gunpla swish through the air. If his Gunpla had a jaw, it would drop. Her Gunpla shifted and swayed with the rhythm of the music as if it were alive. Some of the Gunpla around her gave her space to allow her to move freely, taking in her hypnotic moves. It was scary yet fascinating watching the dark Gunpla move. Hell, Corbin nearly forgot that the whole thing wasn't entirely real. Even missed the fact that the Dullahan Gundam was sauntering up towards him, till it turned, pressing the back piece into the chest plate of his Zeta.

The Gray Zeta followed his actions perfectly, looking surprised that the Dullahan had gotten as close as it did, and once more a dark glow fell over the crowd as he was glared at from all around. Again mono-eyed machines were sending their death glares in his direction.

"Don' be a stick in te' mud!" Lala called with a smile on her face. "This be par' of your trainin'!"

"How is this part of my trai… training!" he called out a little louder than he wanted when the Dullahan had turned around, arms wrapped around the neck of the Zeta. _This is so awkward!_ The Zeta was soon led awkwardly out onto the floor, and Corbin couldn't help but find all eyes on him.

"Ye got to dance, lad!" Lala said, her Dullahan's arms above its head. "Mov' yer feet an' dance!"

Corbin looked down as he started to piece together what was going on. _This… dancing must be a way to help to coordinate my movements while on foot. I can fly fairly well, but I'm still trying to get the hang of this whole movement thing without auto stabilizers._ Following as instructed, he began to shift the feet of his Gunpla, though very awkwardly. Almost like a newborn duck. His balance shifted slightly to the left, but he was quick to counter it, though nearly toppling to the right instead till a hand took his. Looking to the Dullahan, Lala guided her Gunpla, in turn guiding his as the two moved across the floor. Corbin did his best to keep up, but Lala was far more adept at this. Made him wonder if she did this kind of thing with the battle system at Writ's shop.

The floor slowly started to crowd again, and Corbin found himself trying to maneuver with Lala's Gunpla, while not bumping into any of the other Gunpla surrounding him. He watched his surroundings close, his hand shifting the control orbs just at the right moment as to not collide with a Zaku I. Moving past the Zeon suit, he just barely avoided running into a white and gold painted RGM-89 Jegan. Said Jegan easily stepped around him, the name of the battler revealing it to be a she popping up next to the machine. As the name disappeared, a wink icon appeared, leaving Corbin a little… surprised?

Shaking his head, Corbin continued to perform evasive maneuvers through the crowd, keeping pace with the Dullahan, which had little trouble getting through. Seeing the edge of the dance floor just ahead, Corbin felt like he was nearing the finish line. Getting past the familiar pink Zaku II, the Gray Zeta was off the dance floor slumping slightly. Corbin let out a sigh. Releasing the controls, he flexed his hands slightly and gave them a shake to get some normal feeling going through them. Once the blood flow was back to normal, he took up the orbs and moved the Zeta over to the Dullahan. Receiving a private channel from Lala he quickly accepted, the volume of the area dropping slightly so the two could talk easily to one another. "Havin' fun 're we?" she asked, the Dullahan's hands resting on its armored hips.

Corbin looked back to the dance floor, the Zeta actually turning to give him a view before looking back. "Was definitely different. Never thought I'd be dancing with my Gunpla."

The Dullahan wagged a finger in front of the Zeta. "Still got a lon' ways te go lad."

Corbin chuckled a little. "I'm sure I…"

Corbin though was cut off as his Gunpla was pushed aside, nearly toppling over as three Gunplas approached the Dullahan. One was a green ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper with a blue trim, reminding Corbin of the color scheme for a standard Zaku I. The second was a standard looking MSK-008 Dijeh. The last being a NRX-044 Asshimar. As they got closer, the DOM Trooper and Dijeh moved to either side the much smaller Dullahan with the Asshimar at the center. The channel was still open, so Corbin could hear the pilot, who name popped up along side his machine. A Clint Forester. "Really digging that build you've got there. It for sell?"

Corbin could hear Lala snort, the Dullahan crossing its arms. "No," she said flatly. "Now if ye 'xcuse me, we were havin' a bit of fun."

Corbin's eyes narrowed when the Asshimar moved to block the Dullahan as it tried to move around. "Come on. I can see a well built Gunpla when I see it, and yours is definitely a well built piece."

_Ugh, why did that sound dirty?_ Corbin thought as he straightened out his machine, hands clenched slightly. Corbin stepped up, hand moving and resting on the Asshimar's shoulder. "Hey, she's not interested in selling. So lay off."

The Asshimar turned to the Gray Zeta, and Corbin suddenly felt small when he had to look up at the larger machine. Its head dipped down, then back up. "Your's is pretty good build too, but I'm not interested in the Zeta," Clint said, turning back to Lala's Gunpla. "Come on, I'm willing to pay a hundred, cash. Another twenty if you give up the specs too."

"Not 'nterested," Lala answered, her tone beginning to show how annoyed she was becoming.

"Come on, you're breaking my balls here babe! Hundred and fifty!"

Lala's eye twitched. "Babe?" She never really liked being called that by someone she wasn't in a relationship with. Hell, not even close friends called her that. It made her feel small and though she was slightly shorter than Writ, she was not some cute little damsel.

Before the Asshimar could react, a heeled foot struck out, connecting at the side of the right knee joint. The larger Gunpla came down on said knee, the battler Clint surprised by the sudden attack by what was a much smaller Gunpla. When the mono-eye of the Asshimar looked to the Dullahan, now at slightly eye level, a dainty mechanical fist connected causing it to topple the machine over.

The room had come to a halt with a music still playing, and before Corbin realized it, the Gray Zeta was being dragged through the crowd once more by the Dullahan but a much faster pace. The two burst out the double doors almost knocking over the Sumo that was still standing outside. The sun had disappeared, giving way to a night time setting that surprised Corbin. "Spli' up!" Lala shouted, pointing down the street. "We'll meet at te' park!"

Before Corbin could say anything she pushed off, bolting down the street. Corbin watched her leave but turned sharp when the doors again opened, the Clint/Asshimar and his two friends coming out, looking ready for a fight. Forgetting that there were rules forbidding any combat, Corbin immediately turned as the three machines fixated on him and transformed into wave rider mode just when the Asshimar charged. Corbin just barely missed the machine grabbing one of his wings before he was bursting at high speeds over the heads of other Gunplas. He knew the Asshimar could transform as well and could give chase, so Corbin was quickly making use of the city's maze like interior, turning down every corner he could find that didn't lead him in a direct circle. The last thing he would want to do is run all the way back to where he started.

It was another minute before he instantly transformed back into mobile suit mode, feet hitting the concrete hard as he made an emergency landing at the park's edge and he wasted no time running through the opening arch and down a path between a few trees and bushes. It was only when he stopped beneath a tree next to a park bench that he realized how utterly ridiculous it was for him to be running from an Asshimar as if it could actually do bodily harm to him. But no matter how ridiculous as it was Corbin did find it a little fun. All those times practicing against simulated enemies in a mockup of mobile suit combat, he never thought he'd use his Gunpla in something like this. It was a bit refreshing.

With the sunlight gone, streets lamps were on down the constructed path. Corbin stepped back out on the path to take in more of his surroundings. He was alone, though he could see two Gunplas approaching side by side. One looked to be straight build of a AGE-1 Normal and the other was a yellow colored AGE-1 Spallow. A little surprising that the two were walking arm in arm, and paid him no mind as they walked past. "Must be a real couple outside the system," Corbin said to himself, watching them continue on down the path. And as their names popped up on his screen, it was confirmed by the fact they both held the same last name. "So even married couples Gunpla together." Again he learned something new. He shook his head and turned to walk back up the path. "Place is so weird," he mumbled, taking a glance up at the sky. With the city lights on, it was hard to make out the stars above. "But realistic in its own way. So much work and programming had to have gone into its making."

Corbin brought up the city map, looking for other places he could explore till Lala caught up with him. Thinking of the strange woman who's accent he still couldn't place, he wondered where she could have gone to, and had she lost those guys hassling her. "Not like they can really do anything," Corbin reminded himself as he looked over the city. He noticed a clock to the side and notice it was moving much faster than a normal clock. "So time does fly faster in the system than outside it." For every two minutes that passed in real time, an hour would pass inside the system so the days and night would come quicker. "Guess its for the people who enjoy one over the other."

Turning down a different path, Corbin approached what the map showed to be a lake at the center of the park. He paused at the edge of the water, looking out over the watery black surface. He could see other Gunpla moving about in pairs, groups, or just a single one like his. Some were straight builds like the AGE-1 Normal he saw. Others had custom paint jobs, or slight modifications done to them from the normal build. "Almost like watching an anime with living Gunpla," he remarked.

"Refreshing isn't it?"

Corbin turned and from a nearby shadow walked out the Nemesis Astraea. It approached the Gray Zeta, stopping to stare out over the water. "Yea," Corbin answered, looking at his boss's Gunpla before again looking out over the water.

"So how'd your dance lessons go?" Writ asked wit a grin. "Have fun?"

Corbin gave a nervous chuckle. "Your idea was it?" Writ gave a nod. "Well, it was definitely different. Had a hard time keeping up with Lala. Probably would have done more if we didn't run into a bit of trouble."

"Trouble?" Writ asked, looking at the Zeta with a frown. "What happened?"

"Some jerk kept hassling Lala for her Gunpla. Wanted to buy her Dullahan from her, even when she said no. So she knocked the Gunpla flat on its ass and we bolted, only to separate when we got outside the dance club."

"She say to come here?"

"Yea. By the way how'd you find me?"

"You forget your GP Base used to be mine. I just locked onto it with the one I'm using and came looking for ya." He moved his machine forward, hunching down to tip the tip of his Gunpla's fingers in the water. "So how do you like it so far?"

Corbin looked about the area, trying to think of an answer. "Its fine but seems like a lot of work and money went into something that has restrictions on battling. Who would make such a place?"

"A man who loves his daughter a lot," Writ answered.

"What?"

The Nemesis Astraea stood up and turned back to the Zeta. "There's this rich guy named Carl Douglas. Probably heard of him, some guy who owns a law firm of sorts. Anyway, he has this daughter who was caught up in an accident when she was a kid. Lost the use of her legs. She'd be about your age now I think."

Corbin looked away at the thought, feeling bad for the girl. "That's got to suck."

"Well, she had dreams of being a great Gunpla builder. Not like being stuck in a wheelchair was going to slow her down or anything. She wasn't really huge into battles either. But you can imagine it's a little hard to find like minded people who prefer to build instead of fight. So her dad built this," Writ said, his Gunpla gesturing to their surroundings. "Emplacing a restriction on battles and leaving just interactions, she was able to find people who just like to socialize, share ideas or build. Its actually gotten bigger since last year."

"But I've never heard of this place before," Corbin said, looking to the Astraea. "Not in any magazines I've read though."

"He kept it low key for a while. It's still fairly new and word is still getting out. Anymore people show up, he'll have to increase its size, or limit the number of people who come to use it. But tickets are expensive so that tends to shoo people away, unless they have deep pockets. And you've got to reserve them in advance."

Corbin nodded in understanding. "I bet. Kind of like Comic Con, or Dragon Con."

"Exactly. Soon sales booths, a few cafés, and even personal stands were placed to help broaden it out. Even a few official battle systems are placed outside the main dome for actual battle use."

"So have you ever seen or met the girl?"

"Mia Douglas? Yea I've met her. In fact," the Astraea turned and pointed over to a bench on the far side of the lake, "she's right over there."

Corbin turned and zoomed in the direction Writ pointed. Sitting on a park bench was obviously a custom built Gunpla that resembled a Lamia from ancient myth. The build was feminine in design, taking some hints obviously from the Nobel Gundam, with the long simulated hair being a dark pink, almost red with a matching tail that curled on the ground. There were no visible weapons but Corbin was sure that tail could probably crush a Gunpla if it wrapped around it.

"Let's go say hi," Writ said, red particles already being produced from the GN Drive as the Astraea lifted up and coasted over the water towards the feminine machine.

Corbin joined Writ, coasting over the water till they reached the other side. When they landed, Corbin was surprised to see Mia Douglas' Gunpla moving towards them, the dainty Lamia looking machine waving as it approached.

"Mr. Butler!" Mia called over to them, her machine moving from its sitting position and stopping just in front of the Astraea. "It's good to see you again!"

Corbin stopped just slightly behind the Astraea, examining the Gunpla now that he was closer. Imagine his surprise when looking at the machine and seeing it was very well crafted. He dare say it was better than any of Writ's builds. He could even say that the tail may have been a scratch build.

"It's good to see you too, Ms. Douglas," Writ replied, nodding his head at the image of the girl as she popped up on his screen, and on Corbin's as well. Before him was a cute young woman no older than Corbin himself, with long blonde hair the pink highlights. She had bright brown eyes that looked to have a hint of yellow to them and a bright smile on her face.

The Astraea turned, revealing the Zeta standing behind it. "Allow me to introduce my newest, and only, employee from my shop; Corbin Reese. Corbin, this is Mia Douglas."

Corbin found himself straightening his back a little when her smiling image appeared on his screen, with a faint blush on his face." H-hello." Writ noticed the stutter and smirked.

"This is his first time here, so Lala and myself were showing him around."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Corbin," she beamed. "I hope you're enjoying yourself."

"It's a new experience that's for sure," Corbin admitted, scratching his cheek a little. "Got to say, I'm impressed with your build."

Mia blushed, backing her machine a bit and giving a little spin with the tail lifting the Gunpla up a little higher than the Zeta and Astraea. "It took a lot of work, but got my Lamia Gundam just the way I wanted it. Some of the parts I got from Mr. Butler."

Corbin looked to his employer. "You helped?"

"I gave her some small parts for the joints to be used in the tail," Writ admitted. "The rest was all her."

"Mia!"

All eyes turned to the sky as the Dullahan came down, arms wide as it collided with the Lamia, which easily caught the Irish lore Based Gunpla and spun around before lowering back down to the ground. "Lala! I'm so glad you made it!" Mia said, her grin even wider. "I was worried you weren't going to make it."

"Had te' shake a few trouble makers," Lala admitted with a slight blush before looking at Writ and Corbin. "Gla' to see 'ou two here."

"Corbin filled me in on a bit of trouble you got yourself into?" Writ said with a smirk.

"Aye, some plonkers wouldn't take 'no' fer an answer."

"There was some trouble?" Mia asked with a small hint of worry. "No one broke any of the rules did they?"

Lala blushed slightly. "Well, I mey 'ave started a wee fight," she admitted. "But nothin' serious."

"I'll smooth things over if it comes back on you," Mia said with a mischievous look on her face. "I have a few strings I can pull."

The two young women moved down the path, conversing amongst themselves while Corbin and Writ hung back, the two following in silence. Soon the light of the next day was beginning to show in the distance. Corbin was a bit surprised but shrugged as he remembered the time difference.

They all paused though when they took notice of a group of Gunpla surrounding a group of five other Gunpla. Each of the five were suits from Gundam Seed Destiny: the Impulse with the Force Silhouette, Chaos, Gaia, Abyss, and Saviour. Each one seemed to have additional parts to them that Corbin couldn't identify. And watching closely, they were… posing? Corbin blinked as he noticed that their posing and stances were a throwback to Super Sentai, with the Impulse at the front.

"Okay, bring them together!" the battler of the Impulse cried out, and his machine quickly boosted into the air.

The Force Impulse began to shift, the arms and legs folding in and under the Force pack. Next was the Abyss, splitting and folding out into a set of shoulders and arms. Following it was the Gaia which also folded in on itself much like the Impulse. The three then merged with the Force Impulse acting like the head and backpack with the Abyss as the arms and shoulders. The Gaia docked with the two, acting as the torso.

Following the merger, the Chaos and Saviours leapt up, the two ejecting parts from their forms as they changed into what looked to be a set of legs and feet. The rest that had ejected connected with the Gaia portion of the new machine, acting as an armored skirt as the newly formed legs connected. The gestalt came down with a crash. As it straightened out, it towered over the other Gunpla. May even match up to a Psyco Gundam. Anything higher would be pushing it.

"Well damn," Writ said, watching the machine take a heroic stance as rays from the slowing rising sun shined down on the gestalt Gundam. "Should of thought of that myself."

"…" Corbin didn't know what to say.

The girls just watched in awe, while the other Gunpla circled around the five-in-one Gundam.

"Must be taking pictures," Writ said, using his controls to snap a few for himself. "Does give me a few ideas."

"Pictures?" Corbin repeated.

"Like any convention, you're going to have people wanting to take picture. I'm sure someone has taken a few of Lala's Dullahan or Mia's Lamia. Maybe even the Zeta your using."

"Huh."

"There you are!"

Corbin instantly recognized that voice and spun his Zeta around in time to see the Asshimar come down from the sky and land some feet away with the DOM Trooper skirting in over the grass and the Dijeh boosting over the trees. The two landed with the Asshimar as it approached. Corbin looked over to Writ, the Astraea looking over to the Asshimar but seemed to really pay it no mind as it focused back on the gestalt. Lala, from her point, rolled her eyes at the approaching trio but Mia looked a bit confused.

"Thought you could get away with that cheap trick?" Clint asked.

Lala shrugged. "A little."

"For that little stunt, I want a battle."

"You can't fight here," Mia said. "The rules won't allow it and your weapons are already shut down."

The Asshimar turned and paused at the sight of Mia's Lamia Gundam. "Well, well. That's an interesting build."

Mia shrunk back at the Asshimar, her Gunpla mimicking her movements. Corbin growled and moved his Zeta in front of the Asshimar, blocking Clint's view of Mia's Gunpla. "Hey. Just back off alright. No one likes a jerk."

Clint sneered at the Zeta and stepped forward. "Move aside kid. I want a better look at that Gunpla. Hey girl, you willing to sell it?"

"Are you serious?" Corbin asked, confused on the guys antics. "Get lost man."

"Listen here you little sh…" Clint was silenced when a physical blade materialized in his view, and looked over to see the black Astraea with its GN Sword Kai drawn, the red/orange edge of the blade aimed at the mono-eye of the Asshimar. Behind the Asshimar, the DOM Trooper and Dijeh tensed, mono-eyes looking back and forth between the two.

"You're causing a scene," Writ said in a flat tone. "Beat it."

"But…the system's rules…"

"Effects projectiles and beam based weaponry," Writ finished for the Asshimar user. "But a physical blade like mine, not so much. I can still cut yours in half so back off."

Corbin tensed at the tone of Writ's voice and stepped back. He could imagine Writ giving that glare he gave to the foreign guy from before to Clint right now. And if Clint persisted, Writ would keep his word and cut down the Asshimar.

"Writ," Lala called. "We've got incoming."

Corbin noticed it as well. While everyone else was registered as a friendly, even Clint and his friends, a red dot was fast approaching. The other must have saw it as well as they turned in the direction of the approaching enemy, and Corbin's jaw dropped as he took in the image of an approaching Gundam Exia. When it came closer, GN-001REIII Gundam Exia Prime appeared on Corbin's display and he did notice the difference in its build aside from the noticeable red and blue paint job of the machine. Mounted on the left arm was a GN Long Riffle, folded back just like the GN Sword Kai which was mounted on the right arm.

The red and blue Exia hovered in the air with white/gold particles coming from the GN Drive. It stared down at the group before lowering towards the ground. As it landed, Mia's Lamia Gundam slithered over to the Exia.

"Mr. Cullen, I'm glad you came," she said with a bit of relief in her voice.

"I came as soon as you sent out your distress signal," the Exia user said in a deep voice.

Corbin looked at the machine, noticing the battler's name didn't appear. _That's not a good sign_, he thought, tensing again as the Exia moved forward. Dark movement to his side caused Corbin to look and see Writ moved forward, his GN Sword Kai flicking back into it's unused position.

The Exia Prime stopped a few feet from the Nemesis Astraea, the two looking to stare each other down. Even the gestalt and it's fans had paused to look at the tension that was building with their little group.

Corbin moved over to Lala's side. "Who is that and why is he coming up as unfriendly."

"Tha', lad, is head of the security tha' monitors te battle system," Lala said, never taking her eyes off of the two. "Only little Mia knows 'is name."

Blue optics stared at red as the two GN Drive using Gunplas seemed to glare at one another.

"Nemesis Astraea," spoke the head of security. "I had a feeling you would be starting trouble again."

Writ glared. "Exia Prime."

**To Be Continued…**

**Well that took longer than I had liked, but I'm juggling two fics at once along with other hobbies and interests so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.**

**Now I'm going to make something clear, this is a side story that will eventually connect with my Crossover fic **Eyes in Seed**. At a certain point this fic will collide with that one, so be sure to read it along with this one so as to get any idea of the characters and what's going on.**

**Also, its hinted that this fic, along with EiS, takes place roughly two to three years after GBF. So a lot of the things we saw in GBF:T hasn't been thought of, or developed yet. So there will not be Super Saiyan battles with spirit animals that can destroy half the damn planet. (I hated that part) That aside I hope everyone continues to read this fic.**


	3. The Blood Unicorn

**Gundam Build Fighter N**

I do not own Gundam or any other anime/cartoon/comic/manga/game characters that appear in this fan fiction. Enjoy.

**Chapter 03: The Blood Unicorn**

A Gray Hound bus pulled to a stop, breaks screeching from having to slow the weight of not only its own bulk but with the passengers onboard. Only when it was at a full stop and the engine off that the passengers began to unload. Families, couples, groups or those who came alone disembarked and began to disperse for the grounds of their desires. The last to step off was a young man with striking gray hair neatly swept back. Aside from his hair was the striking differences of his eyes, one being grey and the other being an icy blue. He wasn't blind mind you, this was just a genetic mutation by birth called 'Heterochromia'.

Zane Morgan took that last step down from the bus, his heterochromatic eyes glancing about with a wide smile on his face. At last, he had arrived at _'Gunpla World Atlanta'_. Seeing the large dome in the distance, he adjusted the strap of his bag and immediately made a path in its direction. He would check into his hotel room later. Sleep was far from his mind at that moment as he had slept on the bus and that was fine enough for him. Now was the time for some fun. He wanted to test his latest build, and what better place than one that allowed some free reign of motion without the worry of someone trying to burn a beam shot through his back. He adjusted the strap one last time, his free hand dipping into the pocket of his camo patterned cargo shorts.

Now was the time to start his weekend of fun and freedom. "Gunpla is freedom, after all," he said to himself.

**NNN**

The crowd was silent as the blue and red Exia stared at the black Astraea. The only thing that could be heard was the flow of simulated air. Mia nervously looked between the two as it had never dawned on her that this would happen when she had signaled for assistance. Her machine even mimicked her actions, head looking between the two. She looked to the Asshimar and the two that accompanied the Zeta series gunpla. It remained frozen in place as it watched the staring contest between the two, and since gunpla didn't blink it could go on forever.

"I thought you would have learned from the last time you caused a disturbance here," the gunpla, Exia Prime, spoke addressing the black Astraea with a deep sage like voice that all but said 'I will be heard'.

"Not me this time, old man," Writ said, irritation evident in his voice. The Astraea stepped back to let the Exia see the trio of trouble makers. "These guys were harassing my friend and Mia. I simply just got in their way till you showed up."

The blue optics of the Exia Prime looked to the three, and each one visibly stepped back. It then turned to look to Mia's gunpla. "Is this true?"

From her controls, Mia nodded her head, able to see the image of the Exia's battler, and him able to see her. "That is correct. B-but I don't want anyone's gunpla to be hurt, just a fair warning given!"

The Exia Prime turned back to the three. "You heard her," he said, addressing the three who snapped up at his deep voice. "You have one warning. If I hear you three are harassing others, I will personally throw you out of the simulation, and of the convention."

Nothing was said as the Dijeh and Asshimar took off into the air, the DOM Trooper skirting backwards before turning and bolting down a path into the trees. When they were gone, Corbin let out a sigh and turned back to the group. He quickly tensed back up though when the Exia and Writ's Astraea were again glaring at one another.

Patching in to Lala's machine, Corbin asked, "Did something happen between these two?"

Lala nodded, looking a bit worried. "Aye, Writ caused a wee ruckus late last 'ear an' was band from returnin' till now."

The silence fell between them once more till the Exia Prime began to power up and lift into the air. "That warning goes for you as well, Nemesis Astraea. Do not disturb the peace." With that, the Exia turned and shot off into the air with nothing but a trail of particles in its wake.

Writ sneered up at the Exia, turning his gunpla away from its retreating form to look to his friends. With the tension gone, the spectators began to disperse as well while murmuring to themselves of the events they had just witnessed. The gestalt of Seed Destiny gundams began breaking apart into their separate forms. Writ approached his group, standing beside Lala with them opposite of Corbin and Mia. "Well that was entertaining," Writ remarked, his mood falling into a negative. "Not even here that long and nearly get thrown out all over again."

"Maybe you should stop picking fights?" Corbin suggested, remembering the tension he saw between Writ and the foreign guy he had seen that one morning.

"When there are less pricks in the world, I'll stop picking fights," Writ remarked as he turned to look to Mia. "So what are your plans, Ms. Douglas?"

Mia perked up with a smile on her face. "I was hoping Lala could spend some time with me and a few friends."

"I'm free," Lala announced, a smirk on her face. Her Dullahan stepping over and taking the Lamia Gundam's arm in hers. "Watcha 'ave in mind?"

Writ simply watched the two, er… one walk and the other slither, away from the two males of their group. "Guess its just us boys for the time being," he said as he glanced over to the Zeta. "Want to get in some training? They've got some machines set up for combat purposes."

"What, against you?" Corbin asked.

"Best way to start is against a hard opponent. We'll put it on a low setting so not to damage our machines."

"How about after some food? I'm starving!"

**NNN**

Zane flashed his badge at the front entrance. The man at the door looked over the badge, and seeing it was genuine, allowed the young man step through. The glares he got from those still standing in line never fazed him, and as he entered he couldn't help but take in the blue glow of plavsky particles with a smile. It was a beautiful sight. Like standing in the warmth of a blue sun. Looking around briefly, he searched for a place for him to enter. Took him a minute or two, but he eventually found a free space to enter the machine and begin the gunpla mobile field test of his new machine.

**NNN**

On their way to procure some food, the two began to feel the rumble and growl of their stomachs, crying out for nourishment. This lead the two to their current location. Writ and Corbin stood to the side of a concession stand, the former eating a hotdog, the later eating a burger. The look on Corbin's face was one of bliss as he bit into the greasy food. As unhealthy as the food was, it tasted so much better from a concession than from any popular fast food market. As he chewed into his food, Corbin watched the people around him milling about in their own little worlds. Couples walked hand in hand or arm in arm. Families moved close together, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. A mother was trying to sooth the wailing of her baby boy, her husband making funny faces to try and help cheer him up and seemingly fail.

And with all of them, Corbin could see a personal Gunpla carrying case, or a bag with a unopened model. Being stuck between Columbus and Phenix City for all his life, he hadn't seen something like this before. Due to his gunpla hobby, he felt alone with very few people he knew who shared in the hobby. Those who did tended to boast being better and tended to shun his work. Hence why he tried so hard to make his builds look so good. To perhaps get some form of recognition.

"So back to my training, or was there any other plans for the rest of the day?" Corbin asked, looking to his boss.

Writ seemed to mull over the question for a second. "Well, after I pummel you a bit into the dirt," he said with a smile while Corbin groaned, "we'll probably head to the hotel and get properly cleaned up. Then we'll come back. You'll continue your movement training with Lala, and I'll be working on doing a bit of sales."

"Sales?"

Writ arched a brow as he turned to Corbin. "What? I didn't just come here just for fun. I've got some products in my car and I'm looking to sell. Not to mention to get my name out there. Remember, those custom Nobel parts sell big." Finishing his hotdog, Writ balled the napkin he carried it in and tossed it into the nearest bin. He dug into his pocket and drew out his GP Base, flipping it open with a holographic screen popped up. A faint ringing could be heard from it and shortly there after Lala's face appeared on the screen. "Hey."

"Need me fer somethin'?" Lala asked.

"Just giving you a heads up. Corbin and me are going to battle for a bit. After that, we'll be heading for the hotel to get freshened up for the rest of the day, and tonight's events."

Corbin snapped up when he heard Writ mention of 'tonight's events'. "Tonight?"

"Another surprise," Writ said with a grin. He looked back to Lala's image. "So meet us at the car in an hour or so? That way you can wrap up whatever you're doing with Ms. Douglas."

"Sounds like a plan."

When her image disappeared, Writ pocketed the device and just crossed his arms. "Alright, let's get to it!"

"Hey, if we've got time, could we catch one of the showings in the theater? I saw an add saying they'd be showing all of the UC timeline, all the way to Reconguista in G?"

Writ narrowed his eyes at Corbin. "Don't tell me you actually enjoyed that part of the series."

"And you didn't?"

"Of course not. That short series was horrible." He started walking off, Corbin quickly getting to his side as he began to rant. "Horrible plot, a third of the mobile suit designs looked like they took a step back before Double Zeta, the characters were just dumb, and so many people were switching sides I didn't know who were the good guys and who were the bad!" He turned briefly, a finger pointed at Corbin. "Now if they did a full forty-nine to fifty episodes like they tend to do with most of their series to flesh out the story more and develop these characters better, it probably would have lived up to the hype." He could go on with more, but left it at that. He understood the underlying message that was being conveyed but in order to see it, one would have to watch the series over and over to get it, and considering it felt like a fail first time around, watching it a second time would have felt like a job you didn't get paid to do.

"It wasn't that bad."

Writ narrowed his eyes. "Some of the mobile suits had TVs for heads."

"HEY!"

The two paused, stopping at the shout. It could have been directed at anyone really, but one couldn't be too sure. To their bad luck the shout was directed towards them. A group of three approached, one in the center being a large individual with a strong chin that held a slight scar. Dark eyes that matched his short hair glared at the two as he approached, surprising Corbin that he stood a little taller than Writ. His boss however just stared at the man in a confused fashion.

"Yes?" Writ asked, brow arching as he looked to the two that followed the big man.

"You're a lot smaller than I thought you would be," he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared down at Writ then over to Corbin.

"Do I know you?" Writ asked, genuinely confused. "Wait, have I threatened you before?"

"You're Astraea held a blade to my gunpla."

"I've done that a lot lately, you're going to have to be more specific."

"My Asshimar!"

"You're Clint?" Corbin asked, remembering the guy's ID when he saw his gunpla for the first time. He looked to Writ. "That's the guy who kept bugging Lala and Mia."

"Really?" Writ asked, his befuddled look turning into a glare that could melt ice. "Got to ask, how'd you find us?"

"Found you, to be more specific. Someone who recognized your gunpla pointed you out for me."

"I see. So what is it you want exactly?"

"For starters, an apology."

Writ just stared back at Clint for a few seconds before saying, "For what?"

"For that crap you pulled. Nearly got me banned from this place!"

"That was your fault!" Corbin butted in, shrinking back slightly when Clint and his two cronies glared at him.

Writ held an arm up in front of Corbin like it would act as a shield, and stepped towards Clint. "Don't go throwing that death glare at anyone when it's the truth. More than once you were told no and you pushed the issue. Had there not been any interference, I would have cut your machine down and the two belonging to your buddies."

"You talk big for a short man," Clint remarked.

"Cause I can back it up. Inside, and outside the battle system."

"Then how about a battle then? You against us."

**OOO**

Zane sighed with a small smile as he left the main dome and simply drifted amongst the crowd to wherever it would take him. His test of his gunpla bared fruit and had opened up to what adjustments he would need. Though he didn't get the chance to try out his trump cards, but that'll have to be saved for an actual battle.

Breaking out from the crowd, he moved towards the food court area, eying a café and other concessions before stopping at what was obviously a confrontation of some sort. A small crowd had circled a group of five, three obviously confronting two with each sides leader only a foot away from one another and close to exchanging blows. His ears twitched slightly when he heard the bigger of the two throw out a challenge to the two, suggesting a team battle…

"But we only have two people!" Corbin said, butting into the argument again. He was sure Writ could handle himself in a battle but three against two still felt a bit much. "I mean, three on two? That's not fair."

"For them you mean," Writ remarked, his glare never leaving Clint.

Clint stepped closer, his two extra inches in height putting him a little over Writ. "You talk so much shit it makes me sick…"

"I'll be their third."

All eyes turned and aimed at the newcomer with gray hair and different colored eyes. Zane casually approached the group and stepped over to Writ's side, looking up at the taller battler. "Zane Morgan. And I'd be happy to be their third for the fight."

Corbin's jaw dropped. Writ blinked, as did Clint. His two friends who continued to be nameless just stared on.

Writ looked to the young man who looked to be no older than Corbin. "You sure, stranger? You've got nothing at stake in this fight."

Zane gave a casual shrug and smiled at Writ. "Perhaps I'm just looking for a good excuse to test my new machine." There was a slight glint in Zane's eye that didn't go unnoticed by the model store owner.

Writ returned the smile. "Good enough excuse for me." He looked back at Clint, confident smirk on his face. "We've got our third. Meet back here in a hour? Gives us both a bit a of time to prepare."

"Deal." Clint turned and marched off, his two friends quickly catching up.

Zane watched the trio run off before turning to his new teammates. "So before we rush off into a fight, I'd like to properly introduce myself. My name is Zane Morgan."

Writ stood a little loose, hand resting on his hip. "Writ Butler, and this is my employee, Corbin Reese." He threw a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of a café. "How about we sit down, and I explain the situation. Not to mention we come up with a nice little strategy for this throw down."

Zane gave a nod and turned for the café. "Lets."

Corbin remained silent, still not sure on how he should respond to what had just happened but followed the two to the café anyway.

Once inside and seated, Writ began to replay the events from their time in '_Gunpla City'_ till the moment they were confronted with Clint. It wasn't a very long story so their orders hadn't even arrived by the time Writ was done. Zane nodded his head, playing out Writ's tales in his imagination. "I see. I've dealt with guys like that before myself. One even pestering for a build of my own. They're an annoying lot that just won't stop. Heard some stories that involved breaking and entering, along with theft."

Corbin blinked, adjusting in his seat slightly. "Are you serious? People would break into other's homes just to steal a gunpla?"

Writ gave a shrug and crossed his arms. "It happens. Some people just don't have the skill to build something original, so when their jealousy takes over, they resort to some dirty underhandedness. Not saying Clint will go that far, but he does seem persistent." Writ's mood seemed to change slightly as he looked away, staring at a spot on the floor to the side of their booth. "Gunpla will make a man do some stupid things at times."

Corbin hardly knew a lot of his boss. The man was a bit cryptic at times. So he wondered if Writ had been speaking from some personal experience.

"So what's the plan?" Zane asked, hands resting on top of the table. "You're more familiar with their machines, am I correct?"

"Yea," Writ said, snapping back onto the topic. "Clint himself had been using an Asshimar. His two friends had been using a Dijeh and a DOM Trooper. I didn't see anything flashy or special about them, so they may come in with basic equipment… maybe."

Zane nodded his head in understanding. "You're thinking they'll switch their machines up?"

"Can they do that?" Corbin asked, looking to his boss.

Writ gave a shrug and leaned against the table. "I didn't say they couldn't. Both yours and my machine are fast. DOM Trooper and Dijeh aren't exactly built to keep up with our machines, so those two will definitely switch up theirs. Asshimar may still pose a slight challenge. Speaking of machines," he said, nodding towards Zane. "What about you?"

Zane gave a smirk as he dug into his personal gunpla carrying case, drawing out his GP Base and his gunpla. Corbin blinked and seemed to slip into a bit awe at the machine. Even Writ looked to be impress, nodding his head in approval. Standing before them on the table was a well built RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, carrying its shield. But that was where the standard build ended. In the right hand it carried a GN-Sword III in gun mode with a second equipped to the left skirt armor block. Twin GN-Daggers were equipped to the rear of the skirt armor, shaped and mounted to look to be part of the build. Writ could just barely notice the GN-Long and short swords secretly hidden under the shield.

What really got his attention was the twin GN-Drives mounted on the shoulders in a fashion much similar to the Gundam 00. The build and placement was similar, but the design flowed with the look of the Unicorn. Writ would dare say that when it would change into Destroy mode, that the drives would too open up.

Corbin just continued to stare.

"Now that's an impressive build," Writ said, crossing his arms.

"Took me weeks to get the GN-Drives to look right. I broke so many moulds for scratch building…" Zane just shook his head, memories of those hours of trying to get his work to look perfect, only to end in failure till he got it the way he wanted it. "But I'm glad I've got many spares made in case something goes wrong. I call it the RX-0GN Zero Knight."

Writ nodded, and reached to draw out his build with Corbin following his lead. Writ brought out his Nemesis Astraea and Corbin sat out his Gray Zeta. Zane took notice that neither showed any real customization except for the color pallet. But looking at the Astraea, he couldn't help but feel like he was staring at the supposed bad guy of an anime, who would later become an ally of the hero. The bland gray color of the Zeta made him think the suit looked more like a mass produced machine in comparison to either his or Writ's machine.

"I can see some similarities in the builds," Zane said, taking notice of how the paint shined in the light.

"I built both," Writ admitted. "Corbin is currently still rebuilding his Blue Zeta I messed up so I'm loaning him this one."

Zane looked to his fellow builder. "A fan of the Zeta or transformable mobile suits?"

"A bit of both," Corbin admitted with a shrug.

"A bit surprised considering Writ and myself both have GN based machines. Ever thought of a change?"

Corbin shook his head. "Nah. I kinda like the look of the Zeta. Now if I were to upgrade it may be to the Delta Plus."

Writ scratched at his jaw. "I think I have a few back at the shop I haven't sold yet. If you feel like making the upgrade, you can snatch one up. But it'll mean you'll have to work at the shop longer."

"Wait, what?" Zane asked, blinking at the two.

Writ let out a sigh, but paused as their food was brought to the table. Well, food for Zane at least. Writ and Corbin had already eaten so the two had settled for drinks. Writ again got a root beer float and Corbin settled for a glass of water. Zane however chomped down on a greasy burger that Writ had to admit made him hungry all over again. So as their new partner chewed away, Writ explained their first meeting all the way to the point where they made their deal about him working at his model shop. At hearing that, Zane paused.

"Wait, you own a model shop?" Writ nodded. "And he can build any model he wants so long as he works for it? No cash or anything?" Again, Writ nodded. Zane looked to Corbin, who was looking away with a sheepish look on his face. "That's like the best deal I think I have ever heard of."

"You ever find yourself in Columbus, GA, look us up. Won't be too hard. There are only two stores in the whole city that sell models. The more known one is in the mall, but MINE is the where the fun happens."

"Not to put a damper on the budding bro moment here," Corbin said, looking between them, "but shouldn't we be coming up with a plan of attack?"

Writ gave a sigh and waved his hand a little at the topic. "It'll be hard to come up with a plan if we don't know what they'll be using. Not to mention the battlefield. Clint looks to be the type to buy his models completed so he may use some custom job he bought. His two friends, I don't know though. And whatever Clint uses, he may come directly for me or you."

"Why me?"

"Cause you pissed him off first. And he may think you'll be a push over. He knows I'm a bigger threat in a fight so its most likely he'll try to take either of you out first and focus on me. But our wild card here," he said, pointing at Zane who paused in mid bite of his burger, "with his twin GN-Drive Unicorn may be full of surprises."

Zane swallowed his bite, quickly cleaning his mouth with a napkin. "Well I do have a trick or two, but neither I've tested yet. Like I said I just finished building it not too long ago and the programming into my GP Base hasn't been fully explored. For all I know I may overload the machine."

"Ouch," Corbin whispered.

"But after I destroy the rest of this food, I'll make the final adjustments that I think I need to make and we'll be set for the fight."

**OOO**

The anointed time came, and Writ, Corbin, and their new ally Zane stood at a particle generator. They all stared across to their opponents, with Clint at the center and his two followers on either side. The tension was felt in the air so a crowd had grown around the group to see what was to happen. Clint stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest, confident smirk on his face as he glared towards his opponents.

"So what will it be then?" Clint asked.

Corbin tilted his head in confusion at the question. "What's he asking about?"

Writ looked to his employee, a serious look on his face. "It would seem Clint wants to make some sort of wager on this fight."

"Wait, a bet?"

Clint gave a toothy smirk. "That's right. Your machines are pretty fancy, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the albino there has."

Zane's eyes narrowed slightly, his glare fixed on Clint. "Albino?"

"So what do you say?" Clint asked, ignoring Zane all together.

Writ crossed his arms, lost in thought as he mulled over the idea. "Setting will be set to C," he said, arms dropping to his sides. "An entire team needs to be wiped before a victor will be claimed. Agreed?"

"Completely."

"And in the essence of a good fight, I will act as observer of this battle," spoke a voice familiar to Writ, who smirked from his position.

Approaching the projector was none other than Mr. Ral. His steady gaze leveled at Clint's team, who looked confused as to who he was, then he looked back over to Writ and gave a nod. Writ returned the nod and looked back to Clint's team as the machine hummed to life. Blue particles danced into the air before a solid wall of light covered the table and boxed the battlers in.

"_Field 07: Ruins."_

And ruins it was. A city either familiar or not to any and all Gundam fans appeared on the projector, dark skies hanging over head with simulated lightening dancing about and above with the threat of rain. The battlers placed their gunpla, the particles encasing them in mock launch bays.

Corbin's heart began to race hard within his chest as the nervousness was beginning to overtake him. Writ had always been his opponent in some fights but this… "I'm so dead."

"You'll do fine," Writ said, his image appearing next to him. "You know how to fight. And the damage level is at C, so don't worry about the Gunpla getting trashed. Just do your best."

Zane appeared just to the corner, below Writ's image. "Am I to take it this is his first REAL battle?"

"More or less," Writ answered, causing Corbin to sigh.

"Ho-boy," was Zane's only response. "He does know HOW to pilot, right?"

"Oh he can pilot. Don't worry about that."

The green light for launch was given.

"Zane Morgan! Zero Knight Unicorn! Launch!" The green optics of his machine lit up before bursting down the catapult with a trail of dark red particles behind it.

Though not as enthusiastic, Writ's tone was no less serious. "Writ Butler. Nemesis Astraea. Taking off." The red optics of his machine burned brightly, GN-drive dumping out waves of particles as it chased after the GN based Unicorn.

Corbin swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked to the screen, the vision projected from his gunpla giving him a view of the shaft that made up the catapult. "Corbin Reese! Gray Zeta! Ready!" The Zeta switched to wave rider mode and burst out into the open environment. He soon caught up with Zane and Writ, the two flying down towards the ruined city below.

Zane was the first to touch down, his gunpla easily coming to a stop on the roof of a tall building. Writ landed next, the arms of his gunpla folded over its chest as he set down. Corbin came in a little more fancy, pulling up sharp before changing back to MS mode. He landed a bit harder than his teammates, but steadied himself as they looked across the city. The view wasn't exactly picturesque with the monotone colors, their machines seeming to stand out with their bright colors. The scene was just depressing. But being a scene of a horrific battle meant it wasn't suppose to be colorful.

For a few seconds there was nothing there, but soon their radars picked up three approaching targets.

"It's them," Zane commented.

"Took them long enough," Writ replied.

Corbin remained silent as he zoomed in on the enemy gunpla, a little surprised at what he was seeing. Starting from left to right, he could see a dark red AMX-107 Bawoo, surprisingly enough it was transformed as a whole instead of the separate Attack and Nutter components. Next to it was a jade colored CONCEPT-X 6-1-2 Turn X, with no flashy add-ons that Corbin could see. The only difference he could see though was that its trademark X 'scar' was missing, leaving the chest whole and complete. The last though was what stood out the most. It was definitely a scratch of sorts, and a damn good one. It had a mono eye like most standard enemy machines in any Gundam series but it still didn't click in Corbin's mind.

"Well I'll be damned," Writ said, leaning slightly forward as he zoomed in on the machine that baffled Corbin. "I've seen pictures of it but not once had I ever seen in action before."

Zane's image appeared next to him. "You know what that thing is?" Zane, for his part, was stumped. The brown and tan color scheme reminded him of desert based Zeon suits, but its strange design reminded him of something from either Turn-A or Gundam Age. The smooth armor and high rise shoulders said it was a bit aerodynamic and the tail that trailed behind reminded him of Epyon's heat rod. In each hand it carried a simple looking blade on a long stick, the edge reminding him of a harpoon. On either arm was a set of mounted missile pods and on either of the shoulder pylons was obviously a set of particle emitters for a beam weapon of sorts.

"Yea," Writ finally answered. "That thing is a scratch build of a UMF-4A GOOhN from Gundam Seed."

"Doesn't look like any GOOhN I've ever seen before." Its build was far more humanoid than the odd, arrow head shaped machine the GOOhN looked like, though it was still taller than a standard suit.

"That's why I said it was a scratch build. The builder took the basic design and amped it up to a level of ten. The thing is mean and fast. I heard he made a LOT of money selling it and the build just disappeared. Now I know where it went." The GN-Sword Kai snapped into position, the Nemesis Astraea hunching low as Writ readied it for the fight. To the side he could see the Zero Knight follow suit, the twin drives spooling up with dark red particles. "The GOOhN is mine. Corbin, lay in the hate on that Bawoo and that leaves the Turn-X to you Zane."

"Why do you get the custom GOOhN?" Zane asked.

"Cause it's a special build. And I can't see anyone else but Clint piloting that machine. Let's move!"

As if cued, the Turn-X aimed its beam emitter, claw hand opening with a charge building between the three points before firing a beam equal to that of a battle ship. Writ dove off while Corbin again transformed and took to the sky. Zane charged ahead and over the beam, GN-Sword III in gun mode firing off to separate the approaching enemies. The massive beam cleaved through the building they once stood on, leaving a gaping hole in its wake. But Zane got his desired effect as the Bawoo and scratch built GOOhN separated to avoid his blasts, but the Turn-X continued on towards him. Switching his weapon from gun to sword mode, he clashed against the saber of the Turn-X, yellow energy and sparks dancing between the opposing blades.

As Writ fell, he plunged his shield into the building to anchor himself down as the GOOhN approached. He was a bit surprised it could fly at all, but shrugged the thought aside as it came in, the energy cannons on either shoulder powering up. Storing away the blade of his weapon, Writ fired off a few shots, frowning as each one just bounced off its thick armor. The two cannons fired, and Writ only had seconds to dive down and away from the blast as it punctured the already ruined building. The Astraea's GN-Drive spun up to keep his gunpla from plowing into the ground, skimming the streets below as the GOOhN touched down with the ground buckling from its weight. It turned with the arms raised and fired the missile pods, a dozen projectiles tearing off after his gunpla as it raced to avoid the coming ordinance. With a grunt, he made a hard right, the shoulder clipping the corner of a vacant store. Half the missiles collided with the building, bringing it down in a fiery explosion, while the rest managed to continue their pursuit.

Thinking quick, Writ increased the level of his particle emissions, the effect working near instantly as the missiles began to loose their lock on his gunpla and started to veer off in different directions, leaving the area in a shower of explosions. Writ smirked, his Astraea turning to look back at the GOOhN that was soaring over the buildings to try and catch him. "You missed," he mocked.

Clint growled, the left arm of his GOOhN Stretch raised to fire another round of missiles. "Run all you want, but I'm going to get that gunpla in the end!" Again though the missiles met the same fate as the previous set and simply chased off into other directions when making contact with the particles of Writ's GN-Dive, uselessly blowing away more buildings. He roared in annoyance, the twin photon energy cannon's charging up to unleash another blast of yellow hell fire. The beams cut a swath through the buildings as he followed the Nemesis Astraea's path when it turned down another street, only for the black painted machine to jet straight up into the air, trail of red/orange particles falling behind it. He pushed his GOOhN Stretch, chasing after the Astraea.

Writ turned sharp, GN-Sword Kai again flipping out to be brought down hard against one of the GOOhN's short spears. The second one was brought down overhead to stab his gunpla, but Writ raised the shield at an angle, the blade scratching the surface as it harmlessly slid away. The two were locked, the Astraea surprisingly holding up against the larger gunpla, but Writ quickly backed away as the tail shot from below, nearly piercing the cockpit. He didn't run though, and simply charged back in to clash with the scratch built machine.

While Writ and Clint were dueling just above the smaller buildings below, Zane flew back, Sword again in gun mode to fire at the Turn-X. However the machine of the Dark History opened its chest, the beams falling into a glowing energy vortex, and snapping shut once completely absorbed. He growled in annoyance, forgoing the long range tactic and going once more for melee combat. He came in hard, sword again crashing down on the Turn-X's emitter in beam saber mode. But Zane deflected the weapon, spinning around for a kick, but the Turn-X lifted its left arm, blocking the attack. His balance off, the Turn-X came in close with the emitter sparking to life to deliver its 'Shining Finger', but Zane brought the knee of his Unicorn up, knocking the attack up as it unleashed its power harmlessly into the air. He still paid for it though, the left arm of the Turn-X coming down on his machine in a vicious left hook.

Zane gave a grunt, his gunpla falling back slightly. "Wouldn't have expected the guy to be this good."

"Shouldn't underestimate people then, kid!" the battler for the Turn-X finally spoke.

"You can talk!?"

"Of course I can talk!"

The Turn-X dove forward intending to stab the Zero Knight Unicorn, but Zane rolled out of the way, leg flying around to kick at the exposed backside of the Turn-X. The kick connected, knocking the Turn-X away. "Huh. Good to know I guess," he said, turning slightly as he watched the Gray Zeta and the red Bawoo zip through the sky in an aerial dance. But he didn't stare for too long as he dodged beam fire from the Turn-X as it recovered from its fall. He opened his shield, I-Field unfolding to block the incoming beam blasts till he used it to deflect the saber form of the X's emitter.

Circling in the sky at heart racing break- neck speeds, Corbin was beginning to sweat as he tried his best to shake the Bawoo, but the machine was doing well to keep up with him and did all that he could to avoid beam fire and missiles. Feeling like taking a risk, he quickly switched to MS mode, his suit instantly taking in the drag to slow itself down. He spun, saber drawn and ready to cleave the machine in two as it approached, but the Bawoo separated into its two parts, the Bawoo Attacker going high with the Bawoo Nutter going low. Corbin turned sharp, head vulcans firing away to catch one of the two halves but both parts were evading his shots easily before parting away to circle towards him in a pincher maneuver. Beam riffle in the right hand and left missile pod raised, Corbin unleashed his payload at either approaching machine. The Attacker easily evaded his beams and the Nutter just seemed to spin out of the way of the missile barrage.

Cursing his luck, Corbin switched back to wave rider mode and boosted vertically into the air, the two Bawoo halves giving chase while reattaching in mid chase. Again Corbin avoided beam fire, banking right until he dove towards the city below. The Bawoo wasn't deterred, and quickly followed suit with a hail of missile fire. Corbin pulled up sharp as he nearly hit the streets below, missile impacts trailing behind him as he dashed between buildings. Again he changed to MS mode, the heels of his gunpla digging into the concrete to slow him to a stop. He spun around, riffle at the ready as the Bawoo swooped in low. He took a second to aim, firing off a few shots. The Bawoo evaded the first two but a third shot caught its wing, tipping it slightly. It plowed into a building, spinning out of control before transforming into MS mode. As it came around, green beam saber drawn, Corbin was shocked to see its head wasn't the standard for a Bawoo. Instead of the usual mono-eyed aesthetic that ruled most Zeon and Neo-Zeon mobile suits, the Bawoo had a striking resemblance to a Gundam!

Two blaring pink optics seemed to glare at Corbin's Zeta as it shield bashed into him, sending his Gunpla bouncing down the street. Upon the second bounce however he hit his thrusters to again gain some distance while letting off more rounds of beam fire. His aim was poor though, and the "Gundam" Bawoo didn't seem to care as it casually lifted its shield, the nozzles of its mega particle cannons beginning to glow. Seeing the attack building up, Corbin ducked behind a building. The cannons unleashed their built fury and carved several holes into the ruined city, Corbin panicking as one burst through the building just in front of his machine.

The battler of the Bawoo Gundam smirked, ready to give chase to his prey when a early warning system made him dash backwards, evading beam fire from above. The Bawoo Gundam turned and looked up to see the Zero Knight Unicorn above with its GN-Sword III aimed in his direction, before quickly turning back to block an attack from the Turn-X. "Hey, Louie! Keep that guy off me!"

"Shut up, Marve!" the one now known as Louie snapped. "This kids better than we thought. Hurry up with that punk and give me a hand!" He dove in again to cut down the Unicorn, but had to move as it drew out a beam dagger, tossing it like a throwing knife. He easily cut it down, but that small distraction allowed the Zero Knight Unicorn to fire a few shots in his direction. However he opened the chest again to absorb the blasts, returning the energy in the form of a blast from his 'Shinning Finger'.

Zane lifted his shield, I-Field deployed to take the blunt of the hit, but it had enough impact to push his machine into the side of another ruined structure. He began to move out, but paused as he saw the Turn-X coming down towards him, another 'Shinning Finger' primed to finish him off. But a blue, red, and white blur slammed into the side of the Turn-X, shoving it away as it unleashed its weapon into the building just a few meters away from the Unicorn, gouging out a portion of the structure. Turning away from the scene of destruction only meters away from him, Zane watched Corbin's Wave Rider shove the Turn-X into the roof of a small grocery store, before pulling up and away from the battle, the Bawoo Gundam again giving chase. Not wanting to let a favor go unreturned, he quickly fired off a few shots of his own into the wing of the Bawoo Gundam, causing it to spin out of the air and down into the city.

"Thanks for the assist!" Corbin called, turning around to chase after the downed machine.

"Just making us even," Zane replied, turning to look at the recovering Turn-X.

"Technically, I owe you again, since you distracted that Bawoo first."

Zane thought on it, and shrugged. "Guess you're right." He watched Corbin's gunplay continue is pursuit. Though only knowing him for a short time and watching his style of combat, Zane could tell Corbin wasn't entirely used fighting real opponents. His flying however was a different story, though the Bawoo Gundam's battler showed to have a higher level of experience, especially controlling two separate halves at the same time.

"You think your so smug, huh!"

Zane turned as the Turn-X broke down into pieces, each one soaring into the air. He pushed away as each one fired off its mega cannon, using his GN-Drives to their fullest in order to evade the blasts. The head flew back, allowing the battler to watch as Zane and his Unicorn evaded each hit. Unbeknownst to him though, Zane had been waiting for this moment from the beginning. A twist of the orb in his hand, the extra set of commands appeared. Tapping away at the controls, he activated the program he needed. Inside the battle system the panels of his Unicorn began to open, even the GN-Drives splitting open, the twin cone shaped engines spinning faster than ever. The frame beneath first began to glow green but as the drives were spinning, the frame began to change, growing darker till it was a deep red. The white of the armor began to change in color, growing dark in red as well with black/red particles spreading throughout the battlefield.

**NNN**

Far from the other four battlers, Writ clashed once again against Clint and his Stretch GOOhN. Clint pushed back against the GN-Sword Kai, shoving the Nemesis Astraea with his gunplay immense strength and causing it to fall unbalanced. Turning his weapons around in a reverse grip he roared in sick glee as he drove his weapons down to Writ's machine, but Writ spun out of the way at the last second, swinging GN-Sword Kai around to bisect the scratch build, but Clint turned in time, his weapons block the blow but throwing him down into the streets. The impact shrouded him in dust and debris, but that quickly parted as he fired the shoulder mounted particle cannons. Writ leaned his machine back, barely missing the blast and watched the twin beams pass and into the sky.

Writ frowned and turned to look at the Stretch GOOhN as it was already racing up to him. He charged down, meeting Clint's gunplay head on in a vicious clash but had to quickly back away as its tail came around again in another attempt to pierce the cockpit. As it pained him to admit, Clint had some skill. His style of combat told Writ though he favored forward attacks with a powerful MS. The Stretch GOOhN showed this not only with its power, but its size. But that only got you so far.

The Nemesis Astraea spun around another powerful vertical swipe from the Stretch GOOhN. It pulled back in mid turn, GN-Sword Kai switching to gun mode to let off a few shots. The crimson shots were evaded, surprising considering the size of the Stretch GOOhN. Turning its weapons around, it slammed the ends together making it into a double bladed glaive. Weapon held in the left, it raised the right arm and fired off a salvo of missiles. Too close to evade, Writ drew a GN saber in a reverse grip, slicing through two and blocked the rest with the shield portion of his GN-Blade Kai. The blast though knocked him back and towards the ruins below.

The Stretch GOOhN dove down as the Nemesis Astraea regained control of its fall, particles pouring from the GN Drive as it flew backwards just a few feet over the street. Another volley of energy blasts from the Astraea forced it to land. Taking the reprieve in pursuit, the black gunpla flipped over, feet digging into the street with the shield added to punch through to anchor itself down. Up-righting into a stance, shield in front with the GN-Sword Kai held at the side, Writ awaited Clint to charge.

Just when the brute was about to do just what Writ thought he would, a barrage of energy fire came down around Clint's machine, forcing it to move back and away. Looking up into the sky, the separate parts of the Turn-X were floating in the air, their ends charging with energy and aiming down towards Clint.

"Louie! The fuck, man!" Clint cried to his teammate.

"I-its not me!" Louie cried, and he wasn't lying either.

Floating down on a cloud of its own dark particles the Zero Knight in full destroy mode came down in the center of the Turn-X's pieces, the head of said pieces held firmly in its hand. The stark white armor was gone, completely replaced with the color of crimson.

"That's cheating!" Clint roared. "There's no way…"

"Its completely legal," Zane explained, a smirk on his face. "The NT-D mode allows one to controls bits, even ones from an enemy machine. But with the extra boost of a twin GN Drive's Trans-AM, I was able to take control of the separated parts of the Turn-X when it split itself up. As a whole I'm not sure if I could do the same thing, but separated like this?" Zane gave a shrug.

To give evidence to his claim, the parts spun around the area, keeping target of the Stretch GOOhN before letting off a barrage of fire. Clint was forced to evade, his skills being pushed to the limits but so many attacks coming from all directions, he couldn't keep it up for long. And it wasn't too long either for one managed to nick the left leg of his machine. It tilted just off balance enough for another hit to land, the left arm separating at the joint. Clint's cry of frustration could be heard as his machine was repeatedly bombarded by beam fire, the once pristine scratch built gunpla looking like a melted mess before the final shot cored right through the cockpit.

Clint's cry was overshadowed by the explosion of his gunpla.

Writ smiled, looking at the image of Zane's machine. It lifted the head of the Turn-X, the green head visibly trying to escape from his grip but the fingers began to curl, and Louie was cursing all the while till the head ruptured, exploding into pieces that fell to the ground below. Seconds after that though, the particles began to thin out and the crimson color of his machine slowly faded to white, the inner frame going dark.

Zane blinked as he watched his power levels plummet, the pieces of the Turn-X falling to the ground below. "Uh-oh," he said, warning lights flashing around him with his controls flashing WARNING from all sides.

Writ's Nemesis Astraea burst into the air when he saw the gunpla go dark, the color of his frame going black. The machine pitched over and began to fall before the Astraea caught it. "What happened?" Writ asked, noticing no response from the gunpla. "You take a hit?"

"No! I don't know… damn it. Maybe NT-D mode plus Trans-AM was too much for the machine. Pushed it to the limits." He slammed a fist on the side of his controls. "Dead in the water. My machine isn't functioning."

"We're good," Writ commented, settling the powerless gunpla down on a rooftop. "We're still two to one. You said you hadn't tested it out yet, right?"

"Yea," Zane admitted with a shake of his head. "I'll just have to make some adjustments. Hardly had it for a few minutes there."

"Maybe the strain of taking the parts from the Turn-X had a hand in it."

"Maybe," Zane repeated, still looking over the controls. "Tell me something, did you plan this?"

"Hmm?"

"From the start you picked who we would fight. Did you plan that I would use something like NT-D to take over the Turn-X's separate pieces?"

Writ gave a smile, leaning away from his controls. "You give me too much credit there."

Zane had thought of the idea himself even though he hadn't tested his little combo yet. He was happy that it worked, but with such a short time limit, not to mention his machine was completely left with no energy at all, meant he was going to have to make some serious adjustments. Maybe a early warning system to shut it off before completely loss of power.

"Now that just leaves Corbin," Writ commented, his Astraea looking off into the direction of aerial beam fire being exchanged.

**NNN**

Corbin grit his teeth as once again he changed modes, his gunpla turning to fire off a few rounds at the Bawoo Gundam, which blocked with its shield before coming in with a kick, forcing his machine back. Glancing to the screen to the side, he took notice that two of the enemy's signals had gone dark, along with one of his own. That meant they were in the lead, and it was up to him to finish the battle. _Great_.

The Gray Zeta drew a saber bringing it around in a wide swipe but the Bawoo Gundam blocked with its own, one pressing to push back the other but getting no where. Corbin shoved his shield for the head, but the Bawoo Gundam titled its head to the side, the edge of the shield leaving a scar across the cheek of the machine's face. Marve placed his shield between the two, the barrels of his weapon glowing. Corbin saw it coming, his leg coming up and knocking it aside just as the blast was fired, his cockpit was flooded with warning lights as the blast hadn't been cleared completely. The left led had taken a hit was severed mid-thigh.

Kicked away, the Gray Zeta plummeted down to the city, plowing through the roof of a building and into the street. Corbin cursed, the growing flashes of warning logos appearing on his screen to indicate damage to his machine. Looking over, his machine's shield had been lost, as was his beam riffle. Rolling over, he spotted it lying some distance away, and the Bawoo Gundam was fast approaching. Using what thrusters he had left, he pushed himself across the surface to grab it. Hand outstretched Corbin was only inches before a beam cored through his arm, the damaged section exploding and sending his machine tumbling over before stopping at a T-intersection in the street.

"You're finished, kid!" Marve cried, forgoing his long range weapons for a beam saber.

Corbin couldn't help but watch as the Bawoo Gundam came closer, saber held high overhead to finish him in a decisive blow.

"Catch!"

From overhead, Corbin watched as his shield came hurling overhead and slam right at the shoulder joint of his opponent with so much force, it nearly cleaved the arm completely off. Looking back he just caught a glimpse of Writ's Nemesis Astraea flashing past in Trans-AM mode , GN-Sword Kai prepped to thrust forward. The blade burst through the Bawoo Gundam's side, the Nemesis Astraea sliding past some meters back behind as he nearly cut the machine completely in half. Standing straight, Writ slammed the blade in its locked position, Trans-AM fading off. It was at that time the Bawoo Gundam exploded.

"_Battle Ended!"_

With that announcement, the system began to shut down, particles disappearing to reveal the two teams. Clint and his team had a mix of anguish and anger in their expressions, while Writ and his team were happy with the victory. The teams collected their gunpla, which of course hardly had a scratch on them, though the system wasn't perfect. There were some noticeable smudges and scratches, but nothing that couldn't be patched or painted. Ral for his part did as he said, and had made sure that the winners got their prize. Both gunpla and battle data were passed form Clint's team to Writ's. Corbin claimed the Bawoo Gundam, the red machine feeling odd in his hands as he watched Marve walk away, hands in his pockets. Strangely enough, the Stretch GOOhN went to Zane. Writ said it was a reward for his help when he didn't really have to assist them at all. That left the Turn-X Writ, who commented it would look good with the rest he had earned in the past.

With Clint's team gone, their tails tucked firmly between their legs, Writ celebrated with his team. Ral stood with them, a firm look on his face. "You know I don't really condone these actions, Writ." Ral was old school, and didn't truly believe in that form of gunpla battle. But when he looked at the Stretch GOOhN in Zane's hands, the pleased look on his face, he couldn't help but think that machine had found a better battler to use it.

"They had it coming," Writ said with a shrug. "If they hadn't asked for it, I wouldn't have gone with it, but hey, what can ya do." Writ looked to his 'team' his smile falling when he saw Corbin staring at the Bawoo Gundam in his hand. "You ok?" That got Ral and Zane's attention as they too looked to Corbin.

Corbin blinked, his thoughts shaken from the gunpla he held as he heard his boss's voice. He looked up to see all eyes on him. "Sorry. Was just thinking I didn't deserve this."

"What?" Zane asked. "How did you not earn that win?"

"Cause I didn't win. I nearly got cut in half if Writ hadn't saved my gunpla."

"Listen up," Writ snapped, getting Corbin's full attention. "You're still getting the hang of real battles, and for your first fight against someone you didn't know, against a machine you weren't prepared to face, you did good. I honestly didn't expect you to win, but you held out better than I believed you would, and that's something."

"Not to mention your flying was impressive," Zane through in. "Definitely good with transforming machines like the Zeta."

Writ approached, hand resting on top of the Bawoo Gundam, and gently pushed it to Corbin's chest. "Which places the transforming Bawoo in your hands. Congrats. You got yourself a new machine. When we get home, we'll work on you using it as well as the Zeta. But for now…"

TWACK!

Writ clutched the back of his head in pain, doubled over slightly from the blow. All around everyone froze at the sudden attack, and Writ spun around, a look that promised pain upon the attacker was on his face till he saw Lala standing with her arms crossed, a equal look of rage on her face. Her foot tapped away at the floor. "There I am, 'aitin' at te' car like we discuss', only te' 'ear ye in a battle wit' tha' prick from earlier." She marched over, and poked his chest. "And ya didn' invite me!"

**NNN**

At said car, Zane watched as Writ explained everything to the girl, who he had learned was Lala. He watched Writ get an earful from the girl, who had him backed up against nicely kept muscle car. Writ, who had been the lead of their team battle, was trying to say his part but was quickly cut off by the woman with the strange accent. Watching the two though, he leaned to Corbin and asked, "Are they going out, or something?"

"I honestly have no idea," Corbin answered with a sigh.

They both watched in silence as Lala continued to tear into Writ, who continued to try and defend himself by claiming to defend her honor, which she threw back at him by saying she could handle herself, along with a few choice words he wasn't even sure were words to begin with. "Hey Zane."

"Yea?"

"During the cat and mouse run I was pulling in the battle, I noticed your machine go from white to red."

"Oh, you saw that?" Corbin nodded. "Yea. I chose the particle colors to be dark red, but I guess going into Trans-AM like that had the added effect of causing my machine to go into a whole new color."

"Doesn't Trans-AM normally do that?"

"Yea, but it seemed to go a lot darker. Like NT-D mode but darker." He shrugged and looked down at his gunpla pouch. "Still got to work out those issues with the power though. Can't do that again and the machine shut off like that again. Maybe I'll limit it to five minutes or something once I get the power output squared away."

"Why five?"

He shrugged. "Safety measure. Plus I want to have some fun in the fights. Can't just go Trans-AM and trounce everyone. Writ's the same way."

Corbin blinked. "How's he the same?"

"You didn't notice?" Zane asked, seeing Corbin's confused look. "Writ hadn't used Trans-AM during the entire fight, going toe to toe with Clint till I interfered. I'd hazard a guess he was just fighting him on even grounds for the fun of it."

"So he could have won at any time?"

Zane nodded. "Yep. Trans-AM is like a cheap super robot mode that many gunpla battlers exploit these days to win matches. Its hard for other gunplas to face unless they have a full blown strategy. The speed and power boost is limited, but enough to turn the table in a fight. He only needed it when he had to get to your location fast enough to finish off the last enemy."

Corbin blinked and turned away in though, looking to the ground till he heard the door slam shut. Looking over, he saw a defeated Writ approach, rubbing his ears from the verbal beating he had just taken. "You okay?"

Writ blinked, giving a shrug and a smirk. "Nothing mint ice-cream can't fix, trust me." He looked to Zane. "Thanks again for your assist. That transformation of your machine is awesome. Hope you can get the kinks worked out of it." He held his hand out, and Zane took it in a firm shake.

"Same here. It was fun. So any plans for later?"

"We plan to return after a proper clean up, but later tonight we're going somewhere else." His smile turned devilish, and Corbin couldn't help but shudder at it. "Care to come?"

Zane not feeling the same as Corbin, gave a shrug. "Sure. Where to?"

Writ threw his arms out to the side with a wide smile. "We're going to the Underground!"

**To Be Continued…**

**Took longer than I wanted, but juggling two (or more) fanfics at the same time is a pain. And here is Zane Morgan, ****StoryLover213****'s OC and gunpla. They will be playing a role much later on in another fanfic but this is their first appearance in this fic and not the last.**

**More is to come, and another OC will be making an appearance in the next chapter, titled The Underground. Corbin will be exploring another world of gunpla he'd never heard of before, and will be caught up in another battle of his own. And now that this chapter is done, I can work on and finish the next one for Eyes in Seed.**

**Later.**

**PS: I had thought of what would have been a good opening song if this was an actually anime, and for some reason, Guilty Gear Xrd's ****Big Blast Sonic ****came to mind. If you can find it, look it up and listen. It's pretty kick ass.**


	4. Reaper of the Underground

**Gundam Build Fighter N**

I do not own Gundam or any other anime/cartoon/comic/manga/game characters that appear in this fan fiction. Enjoy.

**Chapter 04: Reaper of the Underground**

Zane Morgan stood silently outside his hotel. He had parted ways with his new friends a few hours ago to get a shower and a change of clothes. Currently his shirt showed the war torn Wing Gundam in a kneeling position, saber draw with its wings splayed out behind it with the title of the anime written out in Japanese with a large GW at the end. After a change and a bit of 'okay' hotel food, he had stripped his Zero Knight down to the frame. Even with the low setting in the battle, the amount of power he had pulled out when activating his Trans-AM and NT-D mode had cracked the lens of his phyco-frame. He would either have to use a different material for the build or dial back the power on either mode or both. A lot of trial and error to go through that's for sure. For the time though he carried his backup Unicorn Gundam in case he was to get into another battle. It wouldn't be as powerful as his Zero Knight, but the Unicorn wasn't something to scoff at. His was equipped the same load out as the Unit Two Banshee instead of the basic armament of the Unit One. At least it would give him the chance to change the color of his Zero Knight. He wondered how it would look in a silver color instead of white.

His musings were interrupted at the sound of a rumbling engine, turning in time to see Writ and company roll up in front of him. The engines low roar and continuous growl was felt through the ground and to his feet, digging up that primal feeling most men tended to have at a muscle car, and he couldn't help but give his mental approval. Writ was out first, a nod directed towards him as he pulled the driver's seat forward. Inside Zane could see Corbin in the back, Lala in the front. "Climb in," Writ said. "We've got a twenty minute drive ahead of us."

"You going to tell us about this 'Underground' you were talking about?" Zane asked as he shuffled in, taking the seat behind the driver's seat.

Writ climbed in, adjusting the seat so it wouldn't be a problem for Zane. "Certainly," Writ answered. Vehicle in gear, Writ pulled away from the hotel and on towards their destination, taking the next exit out of the city. He looked briefly in the rear view mirror to see Zane greet Corbin. "It was probably a year or two before Gunpla Battles were introduced into the world. The mayor at that time had this idea to try and build a subway system in Atlanta. Of course it would have been a good idea some time back but Atlanta had grown much since before it was even possible. And before he even got a vote on it, he began construction starting on a station that was just outside the city. His idea was to build outside, in. But there were too many risks, budgets were cut, the list just went on. Worse decision of his career and in the end, the idea was scrapped and the guy got voted out of his office."

"That sucks for that guy," Zane commented.

"Good idea, very bad timing," Writ added, shifting lanes over towards the next exit. "But he had finished a sizable station that already had a reinforced tunnel system that actually stopped just into the city. Power, plumbing, everything was there. Fast forward some years later, before the Sixth World Championship, a man had this brilliant idea of making the station into… well. Its kinda hard to really explain. Its a mix of things. But its something I'm sure you've never seen before."

Lala gave a smile to the two younger boys in the back. "Aye, it'll be fun. Trus' me'."

"Just one rule, and its for the both of ya," Writ warned, his voice taking a serious tone. "The battles that take place there are for keeps. Battle damage is always set to A level and the guys who fight there go by different rules. If you do plan to fight," his eyes looked to Corbin, the boy noticing his intense glare. "Be sure you're ready for it."

Corbin wasn't quite sure but he felt like the warning was directed at him. And he couldn't blame him. Zane seemed comfortable in such battles. Probably had taken part in some high stakes battles before. But the low level sparring he's had with Writ and Lala, not to mention the three on three battle he had earlier in the day was the most intense battles he's had. He looked to his carrying case, wondering what would happen if he did though. He did fare pretty well in the battle, though Writ still helped him. He shook the thought away from his head. He couldn't risk it to try and prove something. Not to himself. At least not yet.

**NNN**

It was near twenty minutes like Writ had said it would be before they found themselves parked outside a single station. It looked like the typical entrance to a subway station, except one never had so many cars parked out front. Climbing out they could see a few good large groups of people going in. Locking up, they soon followed the crowd in, the top entrance of the station looking like a lounge area with two bars on either side. Before they got further in though, two men dressed in black stopped them. To ensure there was no underage drinking, a bracelet was given to identify who was of what age. Of course both Corbin and Zane were restricted. Writ and Lala weren't. Entering they walked past those lounging on the top floor, going down a set of stairs where the music grew louder, the lights grew darker.

Entering into the Underground, Corbin found his jaw drop as he looked at the mob before him, a floor dedicated to the denizens who wished to dance to 'Kill Shit' by Krizz Kaliko. The air was thick with various scents along with the distinct smell of plastic and particles. Various colors beamed down from above, creating a rainbow spectacle of sorts. Several battle systems were set up just on the outskirts of the dance floor, a few more running into the tunnel systems. Outside them were dozens of monitors, some showing several of the biggest battles in any and all Gundam series and those of gunpla battles.

"You two stick together and explore," Writ said, holding his arm out for Lala. The semi-punk/goth girl was quick to put her arm around his, her other hand brushing back some strands of her gray wig aside. "Just remember what I said about the battles."

Corbin couldn't help but growl in irritation as he watched his boss disappear towards the dance floor, Lala laughing at something Writ said but with the music so loud and the cheer of the crowd as the song changed just as the DJ stepped up, you couldn't hear whatever it was. "So what do you want to do?" Corbin asked, turning in time to see Zane zeroing in on a battle taking place. It was a gruesome free-for-all between four battlers, each just rushing in to pummel one another. No grace or tact, just pure melee. "Your kind of fight?" Corbin asked.

Zane shook his head. "Hardly. I was looking at the builds. They were good. Such a waste for them to be used in such a manner." He nodded his head in the direction of the tunnels. "Lets get a look further in, huh?"

Corbin nodded in agreement, and the two battlers stepped down into the crowds, making their way down the tunnel to the right of the main dance floor. As they moved, neither noticed that they were being watched. Brown pigtails bounced slightly in amusement as the girl watched like a predator hunting their prey, green eyes glistening from a shadowy corner. And to this particular girl it was just that. Mostly because she had seen who the two boys she was currently following had entered the Underground with. She wasn't interested in the woman that was occupying Writ Butler's attention on the dance floor. No. The two boys that had drifted off to do their own thing was what she was after. And one of them was fresh. The thought made her grin evilly with a little bit of a fang poking out. It was how the plane looking one was moving and how he examined some of the fights that gave him away as a rookie. And oh how she loved to torture fresh meat.

**NNN**

Corbin had a sinking feeling he was being watched. But with so many people around it was hard to tell. He did notice a few looking his way. Maybe sizing him up, perhaps? Could they tell he was fresh to gunpla battles? At least professional ones. Looking to Zane, he saw the other young man simply move through the crowd as if it was second nature; like he had done this before. "So, Zane. You've fought in tournaments before, right?"

Zane glanced back, one catching the light more than the other, giving it a soft glow. "Yea. Been in a few. Why?"

"Does it get overwhelming?" Corbin asked as he made his way around a group hovering over a pedestal with a highly detailed Sazabi, its armor flared and open to reveal the custom interior work. "You know, the big fights and all?"

Zane gave a shrug and turned back ahead, his eyes landing a few well built gunplas that were obviously made for display purposes only. "Sometimes. But when the fight starts you tend to forget the crowd around you and focus on the fight."

Corbin looked to a battle just as it was ending. When the particle field disappeared, he could see the remains of a G-Savior, the poor gunpla completely trashed by a custom built Nu-Gundam. The winner looked too pleased with his win, his gunpla looking to not have a single scratch on it. The other fighter though looked completely wrecked, cradling the pieces of his gunpla as he turned and walked away, though not before handing over a small stack of bills to the winner. Looking over, he saw Zane frowning at the display, and shook his head as he moved on. "Not your style either?"

"I don't mind betting. Its to be expected in some battles. Can't say I haven't placed a bet or two myself, but to be a dick like that guy was for a win?" He shot a glare at the winner again before they moved on to the next display. "He probably tricked the guy into a fight knowing it would be an easy win."

Little did Zane know, a young girl, perhaps no older than eleven or twelve walked up to the winner, innocently rocking on her heels as she asked him something, which the fighter laughed. Laughing stopped when the girl seemingly insulted the man, who shook his head before turning to the battle system, the girl going to the opposite side. Her evil grin could be seen just before the particle veil wrapped around her station.

Of course neither Zane or Corbin saw this, and were currently staring at a screen that depicted something that was perhaps rare and nearly unheard of in the Gundam world. There had been a rumor going around that a new Gundam series was being produced in secret. One that would be influenced, and a bit of a fusion, of another long time fan favorite. It came as a surprise when the title _'Pretty Mobile Suit: Gundam Moon'_ was displayed in pink and yellow gundam style font. Watching the subtitles, they caught on that the series was about Usagi, a girl who's real name was Serena and was secretly the heir to the Moon Kingdom. The earth and the moon were ruled by Queen Byrel and her dark army and legion of mobile suits. Watching on it nearly followed a mix of both Sailor Moon and Gundam series. Only instead of magical powers she used a mobile suit that resembled a Nobel Gundam but with similar hair style. Most enemies had similar style mobile suits, rehashed from other series anywhere from the original gundam series to anything within any of the meta series. One would say it would be like an unofficial sequel to Turn-A.

"It seems… cool?" Corbin asked,.. well more stated when looking to Zane.

"Goes to show they may be running out of ideas, but I think it has promise," Zane said with a nod. "Plus everyone can get Sailor Moon style Nobel Gundams without having to resort to kit-bashing or scratch building."

_There goes your little side project, Writ_, Corbin thought as he turned from the screen to march over to a display case. Standing proudly was another Zeta, this one being a Perfect Grade, and it matched the name. The detail, the coloring, everything looked perfect. There were no flaws he could see, though he was sure Zane could spot something considering he was the better of the two in building. "Looks so cool," Corbin nearly whispered, taking in every inch of the machine. "I wonder if having this, I'd be a better fighter."

"Its not the build, but the skill of the battler," Zane said as he stood next to Corbin, eying the PG Zeta. "I've seen guys with straight builds fight better than most with perfectly built gunplas like this." He looked to Corbin, seeing his fellow battler stare at the Zeta. "You really like that machine."

"My first Zeta my uncle bought for me. He's a huge fan of Gundam. Has a ton of models from back in the day before Plavsky Particles."

"He ever battle?"

"If he does, he's never told me," Corbin admitted, leaning back from the display. "But he perfected his skills in building. They could probably match this Perfect Grade here." He glanced to Zane when he gave a whistle of approval. "Never told him I lost my Zeta in a fight though. Bet he'd be pretty mad."

"You sure?" Zane asked, arms crossing as he looked back to the Zeta. "I doubt he'd be mad."

"If you say so." Corbin looked on, seeing another two displays before the cavernous hall ended at a dead end with a large 1/1 scale Zaku head staring back at them. He looked up to the higher platform of the tunnel, seeing a few booths placed into the wall. Everyone was occupied with a few patrons having a couple of drinks or having a bite to eat. Corbin was a little surprised there was a waiting staff, and watched as one ducked out into back door into another room he hadn't even noticed till then. "This place has a mix of everything."

Zane nodded his head. "Come on, let's check the other side. See where it leads."

Corbin followed, taking one last glance at the PG Zeta before continuing on behind Zane. He paused however when he felt like he was being watched. Shaking the feeling off he continued on after Zane. Approaching the main hall, the music had changed to something a little more dance party worthy, the floor nearly filled to the brim with dancers. If Writ and Lala were still in the mob of dancers, neither of the younger battlers could tell. Up at the DJ booth was a sight to behold. The one working the turn-table was a woman, but she wore an all encasing helmet of a Guncannon with digital anime style eyes blinking in the visor. Corbin felt his cheeks warm slightly when he noticed she only had on a black skirt that stopped at mid thigh and a red bikini top. Her hands were covered with fingerless gloves with an assortment of bracelets on each arm.

"Thought I'd seen it all," Corbin commented.

"I've seen stranger!" Zane shouted as the moved, the music and the cries of the crowd becoming near deafening.

**NNN**

Writ gave a laugh as he and Lala tumbled slightly off the dance floor, Lala hanging onto his arm. He wouldn't lie and say he was a proficient dancer. He was more like a wet cat with paper bags tied to his feet with a piece of tape on his back. But he did what he could do to keep up with Lala, who showed she was just as skilled on a real dance floor than one she danced her gunpla on. She gave him a soft nudged to take a break before disappearing back into the crowd to dance. Dancing was a hell of a workout on its own and she'd get her fill. Writ on the other hand would take a breather. He thought he saw Zane and Corbin on the other side of the crowd, but shrugged as he made his way to an open booth. Dropping down, he leaned back and rested a bit. He gave a long sigh, the days events washing down on him. A long drive, plus his battles, now a quick dance with Lala? He may have pushed himself a bit before getting a proper rest.

A slow turn of his head to get his neck to pop, he noticed a sulking figure limp away. In his hands he carried what looked to be the remains of a Nu-Gundam. He'd seen that image of a loss one too many times. And the look of utter shock on his face? Writ surmised the guy fought someone who he thought he'd win against. And that thought made him frown as he glanced over the sea of people. There was a shark in the waters. Wouldn't be the first time he had seen someone prey on other battlers. A majority of them just took delight in the fight, trashing people's machines for the fun of it instead of honoring the sport.

A killing intent swept over him, and Writ quickly looked in the direction he felt it originate from. Sadly the crowd was too thick. He couldn't find the source. If the intent was aimed at him, it could be for a number of reasons. He wouldn't lie about it. Writ had made some enemies in the past due to his old habits of how he looked at battles before the Sixth Gunpla World Tournament. Eager, young, and arrogant as hell. Took much to knock him off his pedestal. Even a hefty beating from Mr. Ral himself in order to get his head on straight.

But who could it be?

Writ didn't like being someone's prey. If anything he was the hunter, not the hunted.

He stood from his seat, fatigue completely forgotten as he scanned over the crowd. The minute he stepped down though, he felt that intent disappear. Either he had called some bluff, or they found better prey. Either way he felt a challenge was made and he was going to meet it.

**NNN**

She would get to Writ another time. The second she cast her stare onto him, he had noticed. Not surprising. She was however surprised that he had recognized her killing intent. It had been years since they last saw each other. But she was happy she had left an impression. But she had weaker prey she wanted to play with before focusing on a real challenge. The two boys she followed were currently moving onto the next area, pausing to look at the battles that were taking place. She ignored those amateurs though. Seeing their sloppy fighting styles told her they wouldn't last a minute. Hell, a second with her and her build. No she wanted that little boy who was connected to Writ. Were they related somehow? Like the one she had cut down in the Region's finals those years so long ago. She was so young then. Still new to the game, but already reveling in the thrill of a brutal win; tearing her opponents apart.

She spotted an open battle system, the two combatants having finished their match and moving on. Good. She was tired of hiding in the shadows to make her move. Now was as good a time as any.

**NNN**

Corbin stumbled slightly as a smaller body crashed into him. Hearing a very girly, petite cry he turned to see a girl sitting on the floor. Her clothes screamed typical school girl uniform, maybe of catholic school in origin. As far as he knew that was the only style around the parts he was in, unless there was a school modeling their uniforms after such. She had brown hair tied into twin pig-tails that bounced as she whined slightly from the collision. Soft green eyes looked up at him. "Hey!" she pouted suddenly as she staggered to her feet in small heeled shoes. "What kind of guy pushes a little girl?" It was hard for someone to take her serious with such a cute voice as hers.

But Corbin frowned, crossing his arms. "Push? I didn't push you. You ran into me."

She pointed a finger at him. "Don't deny it!"

"Who's denying anything?" Corbin shot back, never noticing he was beginning to draw a crowd.

Zane noticed the stares though and nudged Corbin. "Hey, relax. You're starting to draw a crowd."

Corbin looked around, his arms slowly falling to his sides. Zane wasn't lying, and a lot of eyes were turning to Corbin. "I demand a battle!" the girl shouted, drawing his attention back to her as she pointed to the system, her little hand shaking. Perhaps from all the attention that was drawn her way now. "One on one."

Corbin pushed on by the heat of this argument, stopped himself. He thought on what Writ had said about the battle systems always set to A Damage Level. He wasn't one of the best fighters, but seeing this girl trembling and struggle to produce her gunpla's carrying pouch, he had to ask himself should he really fight her? She was just a kid. And how would that look if he completely destroyed the girl's gunpla? For all he knew it was a gift from an uncle or older brother she held close to heart.

Corbin shook his head and looked to be turning away. "Sorry, but I'll pass."

"What? Are you scared?"

Corbin's eye twitched at the remark, and he looked back to the girl. "Are you serious?"

"Just admit you're scared and I might forgive you," she said, head turning away as she crossed her arms. She even lifted her nose slightly.

Now the people around them were beginning to whisper. And that began to set a fire under Corbin. "Fine," he relented, spotting a free battle system just waiting to be used. "You want to battle, then lets battle." He missed the smirk on the girls face as he turned to the system, but paused when Zane grabbed his arm. "Hey..."

"Look, I know you're not as new to the game anymore, but this doesn't feel right," Zane said, looking to the girl as she puffed her cheeks in annoyance at his intervening.

"I'll just disarm her machine and scratch it up a bit," Corbin whispered as he pulled his arm free.

Zane watched Corbin move to the system. He turned back to the girl. Seeing her brought an itch to the back of his head. There was something very familiar about her. Something that made his hair stand on end. So he stood to the side and watched as the system booted up, particle veils forming over the battlers. Again that itch formed in his head as he say the girl give a smile that didn't set well with him. But as any battler, he would stand back and see the fight unfold. He looked to a neighboring monitor, seeing the field unfold as a ruined city scape. Near identical to the one he fought in as a team with Corbin and Writ. There was no rain, but the sky was cloudy and pitch black, shrouding the city in darkness.

The Gray Zeta flew from the launch bay in wave rider mode, coasting gently over the ruined buildings as he searched for his opponent's gunpla. She didn't seem like the type to have a flyer. He imagined she was using some custom Nobel Gundam. Circling the city once over and not finding a single sign of her machine, Corbin flew in low, transforming into MS mode. He skirted the street in his landing, stopping at a T-intersection. Unknown to him, Zane was already shaking his head at his choice of landing on the ground.

A crack of lightening brightened the area enough to give Corbin a look of the desolation around him, but it only lasted a few seconds before again he was bathed in darkness. Slowly moving down the street, shield held at the ready, he couldn't help but feel a chill run up his spine. The wait wasn't something he was used to. By now someone would have launched an attack. Maybe she was using a sniper!? Looking up at the buildings, he noticed several clear vantage points she could tag him if she so chose to. Ducking behind a corner he thought would provide some cover, he continued to wait. It was already two minutes in and she still hadn't made her appearance.

Brief movement from his left screen drew his attention, and Corbin brought his rifle to bare only to aim at nothing. Again something small flew past his screen at an alarming speed and he turned, firing a single pink beam that lit the area for only a second. It bored into the side of a building, lighting it on fire. Cursing himself, Corbin moved further back into the shadows. If she was using them, so could he. But the whine of what sounded like a horse drew his attention. Its whine echoed in the barren city, along with the sound of hooves clacking in an all out run. Corbin's blood began to pump as he looked from screen to screen, the sounds drawing closer and louder.

And just as suddenly as they came, they stopped. Corbin turned his Gray Zeta, looking down the streets for the source but found nothing. "Where the hell are you?"

Outside the veil though, Zane's jaw dropped. Now he knew where the itch was coming from. He knew this girl and how she battled. Even the crowd who were watching continued to go on and on about how she had suckered in another victim, and Zane bit his lip. He personally had never faced the girl who was facing Corbin, but he had heard the rumors. He held his hand over his gunpla, debating if he should interfere. Looking around though, the crowd looked to be watching with intrigue, and there was no telling what would happen if he decided to jump in. But… "Corbin, behind you!"

Corbin heard Zane's cry from the other side of the veil, and did as ordered. He jumped from the building he stood against and turned, shield at the ready when he froze. There standing on top of the building was a horse. A black colored Fuunsaiki. A horse Mobile Armor from Mobile Fighter G Gundam. Buster shields gripped to its legs, perhaps for added defense with what looked to be a short range blaster added to the under side just between the front legs. The head was a custom sculpt, taking more of a horse's skull in its design than an actual horse. But it wasn't what bothered Corbin. No the rider was what gave him the chills. Upon its back sat a tattered cloaked figured, its head hidden beneath a cowl with only its red optics burning in his direction. In its hand it held a long staff with a beam emitter at the end, which sparked to life to form a blood red saber blade in the shape of a scythe.

Why hadn't his radar picked it up!? Corbin looked down and could see nothing on his console, and when he looked up, the Fuunsaiki and its rider were gone. "Shit!"

The Gray Zeta boosted into the air, getting as far off the ground as Corbin could get before he as quickly assaulted by beam fire that seemed to come from all directions within the darkness that blanketed the city. He fired into the direction the beams came from, but he couldn't see a direct hit. Another two fired and from different positions on the field. Were there others out there he hadn't seen? Had someone jumped into the fight? He looked to his radar again and still couldn't find the source of the beam fire. Something was messing with his machine, but there were no particles floating through the air, so it wasn't a GN based machine from Double-O. He growled in frustration as he dodged another beam from above, only to block as another two came from his right.

Briefly, he saw something zip pass his screen and he fired, his beam missing the target but light its backside up enough for him to take in the design of a Bit; a small remote controlled beam weapon that was widely used in the UC time line with variations appearing in other Gundam meta series over the decades gundam has existed. No wonder he was having difficulty trying to hit his targets. They were just too small and with everything being so dark, it was hard to strike them down. But he continued to attempt to strike the Bits down, dodging what blasts he could till one finally struck Zeta's left leg. He tilted slightly, just enough for another shot to strike one of his back wings.

Corbin watched the simulated world spiral as his machine plummeted out of the air and towards the city below. Before he could hit the ground he transformed into Wave Rider mode, the belly of his machine scratching the ground as he tried to pull up with beam fire trailing behind him. He pulled sharp down a left turn in order to lose the Bits but they didn't slow the least bit and continued to give chase. It was this moment that an odd laugh came over his opponent's channel. "Chechecheche! Run, run, run little Zeta boy!"

Corbin couldn't help but slightly pale at the girls voice. "What the hell!?" A beam tore through a building at his side, debris bouncing on his machine as he continued to evade the continuous beam assault.

"What's wrong? Can't handle a widdle girl!?" she cackled just as her machine on horseback leaped over a building, beam-scythe held high in one hand. She brought down her blade, the red energy cutting a deep gash into the side of his Zeta. Her machine turned, bits zipped around her and on towards the Gray Zeta as it dragged against a few buildings before pulling up into the air with a trail of smoke. "I won't let you get away, Zeta boy! My Reaper Gundam is coming for you!" she cackled.

The screen to his left flashed at what damage he had taken, and it wasn't looking good. Already he had taken a few hits from her bits and with the damage from her scythe, he wouldn't be able to remain in the air for much longer. Looking at a rear view monitor he could see the bits closing in, sporadic beam fire forcing him to tilt and weave in the air with some landing a few grazing blows that scratched and scorched his machine. "You little bitch!" Corbin cursed, surprising himself. "You… I was going to go easy on you!"

"Your mistake," she said simply, her machine having moved to another vantage point. The black cloak fluttered in the air, optics burning in the shadow of its cowl as she watched in bliss as her Bits little by little picked at his machine. "To be honest I expected more from someone running around with Writ Butler," her tone laced with disappointment.

Corbin blinked, his eyes glancing to the image of the Reaper Gundam. He shivered as it seemed to look right back at him. "You know Writ?" He rolled out of the way of another beam aimed for his left vernier.

The girl licked her lips, her tongue stopping at the right corner of her mouth before she answered. "Quite well. He ran away before we got to fight at the tournament. He probably would have been a better fight than this though." Her fingers danced on the dials of her haptic controls, the Bits following her commands as she pushed them to continue their pursuit.

Corbin growled, his machine rolling back down towards the city to try and move himself out of her visual range. He wove through the streets once more, hoping to loose the Bits and their master. He thought carefully on what she said and answered back, "Bull shit! Writ isn't the type to run away from a fight."

"Oh, he had to have ran after what I did to his friend's gunpla," the girl said, her machines galloping down the street to keep up with his Zeta. "That poor, poor, White Frame Astray. A good build, but in the end I ripped it apart. Just like I'm going to do to yours!" she cried out, her beam-scythe cutting through the edge of a building as Corbin's Zeta flew past, the edge just nicking the end of his left wing. She turned just as the Zeta transformed, hitting the ground in a roll before rising up onto a knee, rifle at the ready and firing off three shots. She spun the beam-scythe, blocking the shots. Her Bits flew in, disappearing beneath the cloak of her machine before it leaped into the air with its scythe held high. When she came down, the beam weapon cut clean through his rifle. Corbin tossed it aside as it exploded, standing with a saber drawn and quickly rushing in. The Reaper side stepped, the opposite end of the scythe tripping the Zeta. She cackled again as the Gray Zeta struck the ground, rolling over with the beam saber held in defense.

Hearing about an Astray, Corbin thought back to the glass case display back at Writ's shop. He remembered the two Astrays he had there and when he thought hard enough about it, there was space for a third gunpla. Maybe it was the White Frame she spoke about? He shook his head, glaring at the gunpla before him. "Now is not the time to be thinking about that," he said to himself. He had to keep his head clear.

The Reaper fired its head vulcans, trail of yellow stretching the distance. Corbin raised his shield, the small arms fire bouncing off harmlessly but still doing enough damage to ding it up. But this was just enough of a distraction for the Reaper to move in, its battler cackling loudly as she swung the scythe around. He pulled back, the red blade passing where he once stood. He returned fire with his own vulcans and two grenades from his wrist mounted launchers. The Reaper jumped back in time, the projectiles going off in a huge explosion that lit up the darkened streets in a blaze of fire.

Corbin used this time to duck behind a few buildings a block away, keeping low and remaining still. Looking over his system readout, he paled when he saw his ammunition was nearly depleted. His vulcans were down to less than half and he only had two grenades left. He cursed, his fist hitting the screen to his side. He was getting sloppy. His heart was racing and his hands shook. This seemed worse than when he lost to Writ in their first meeting. Another Zeta to be torn down by a more experienced gunpla battler.

"~A Minotaur's my butler, a Cyclops my valet~"

Corbin tensed as the girl began to sing. He looked to his radar, seeing it was still being jammed by her machine.

"~A Centaur draws my chariot that takes me down the way~"

He turned again, looking down the darkened road to see nothing, then above. Nothing.

"~Through a river made of fire, to a street that's paved with bones~"

He glowered, his hands clenching the control haptics to the point they may actually break. She was toying with him now. Down right playing mind games. And it was working.

"~I've got a dozen zombie skeletons to walk me to my throne~"

"Stop messing with me and fight!" Corbin cried, his nerves rattled. He boosted back around the corner, shield in front. The Reaper was missing, no longer in the street he had left it.

"~In the land of the dead, heck boy ain't it grand!~

He turned sharp, shield again at his front. But it served him little defense as the red beam cleaved through it like butter. He ejected the shield, the remaining grenades ready to fire as the Reaper swept the end of its scythe up, knocking the arm aside. The grenades fired into the building across from them, the explosion close enough to push both machines back. At an impressive display of control and experience the battler of the The Reaper boosted before hitting the ground, skirting the machine back and up onto its feet while Corbin's machine collapsed into another building at his side. Fire and smoke blanketed the area as the buildings were catching fire.

"~I'm the Overlord of the Underworld cause I hold horror's hand~"

The Grey Zeta stood, turning to face the Reaper as its blade came down. The beam cut clean and true through the left shoulder joint, the limb falling to the ground while the Zeta backed away, saber again drawn and at the front. The girl cackled once more, the Reaper standing idle while looking at Corbin's machine. It sparked once before a flame came from the damage, smoke lifting into the air. The blue particle veil Corbin stood in was being bathed in pulsing red light as the system warned him of the damage to his machine.

"Man, I love that song," she said, the scythe resting on the right shoulder of her machine as it idled in the street. "Tickles me so. But you seemed to have forgotten something."

Corbin blinked in confusion, and was about to ask what she was talking about before his machine jolted violently. He looked to the damage readout, which all but screamed he had been stabbed from behind. He adjusted his controls to look down and saw the very horn from her steed's head, piercing through the chest of his machine. The 'Death Steed' as she had called it had stabbed him in the back while he was focused on her!

She titled her head to the side innocently, fingers again dancing on her controls to move her steed. "You forgot the horse."

The horse backed away, the horn tearing from the Zeta and furthering the damage to its left side. Corbin turned his machine, its reaction a bit sluggish as it took a swipe at the horse, only for it to jump back and his saber sailing past. His back turned though, the Reaper moved, the blade brought up and under, cleaving the right arm in half at the elbow. Corbin could do nothing as he watched the limp sail away. The Reaper again swung its blade and took the right leg at the knee. The Zeta crumbled to the ground, and before Corbin could attempt to move, the foot of the Reaper firmly came down on the chest of his machine, pinning it so it couldn't go anywhere.

"Well, it looks like you lost, Zeta boy," she taunted, the edge of her beam coming down slowly till it touched the armor platting. Slowly she dragged it down, cutting a gash into the 'metal'. "Honestly I was hardly trying."

"You won! Fine!"

"Buuuut I'm not done yet, chechecheche." Her grin nearly reached to her ears. "Gonna carve you up first!"

Corbin watched as the red blade of her beam scythe lift up to bring down the final blow. Again Corbin had lost to an actual battler. Even worse it wasn't with his own build, but Writ's. He was sure his boss wasn't going to be too thrilled about the damage he had received to his Zeta. Wouldn't blame him if he got chewed out for it. He watched as the blade reached its peak before coming down, just for a similar weapon but with a purple beam to hook itself under the Reaper's weapon, effectively stopped the weapon all together.

The Reaper's battler blinked in mild surprise, the Cheshire grin slowly shrinking till she looked at the feminine machine that held a scythe similar to her own, which stood over the downed form of the Gray Zeta.

Zane blinked, haven't even noticed someone else had entered the fight with a customized Nobel Gundam. Looking the screen which displayed the battle for all to see, he saw the identification pop up to the side. "Dullahan?" he whispered. He had seen variations of such a mythological being in games but never once had he seen one in gunpla battle. He looked about as he took in some of the surprised spectators who had been watching the one sided fight from the start. Those who had been placing some bets looked a little angry at the interruption, considering they looked to be winning their bet when the Zeta fell. But with a third unknown entering the fight it looked like no one was going to win or loose. However some others found it to be fairly entertaining. Then you had the… weird ones who making odd comments about the feminine quality of the machine and its build. He made sure to keep his distance from them.

Back on the simulated battlefield, the Dullahan forced the red scythe of the Reaper away, causing the machine to step back. The Reaper's battler growled, annoyed as the Dullahan turned, one hand resting on its hip while the other balanced its weapon on its shoulder, the cable threads which made up its silver hair flowing in the wind. "You won lassy," Lala said.

Corbin's Zeta turned, twitching slightly from the damage. "Lala!?"

The girl licked her lips, her machine standing a bit straighter, a light cackle escaping her. "Not done quite yet. Need to make a point with Zeta boy there."

The Dullahan's shoulder shifted in an imitation of a shrug. "Don' care." The tip of its toe lightly tapped the side of the damaged machine's head. "'e's wit' me and his boss, who by the by 'as been watchin' the whole fight."

Back with Zane, the teen blinked as he noticed a presence standing beside him and nearly jumped when he saw Writ standing beside him, arms folded over his chest a stern look on his face. "What the hell happened to my Zeta?"

The Reaper looked down at the Zeta, the girl laughing. "So Mr. B is your boss?" She laughed a little harder. "No wonder you're such a terrible fighter. Should have taught you to run away too like he did."

"Shut it!" Corbin snapped, again surprising himself.

"I've go' to agree wit' the lad," Lala said, her machine stepping towards the Reaper. "Bes' watch yer tongue."

The Reaper pointed it's favored weapon at the Dullahan. "I'm just going to have to tear your machine apart too." She grinned, fingers again playing with the dials as her Death Steed looked ready to charge, hoof digging into the ground as the battle system announced a weather change for the battle, with the first signs of snow flurries dropping from the sky. "Which will be fun. There can only be one Reaper in these parts."

The horse gave a silent charge, horn lowered to impale the feminine gundam till the purple blade of the Dullahan swung back, cleaving right through its neck. The head sailed high before landing a street away, the body taking a dive into the ground in mid gallop, sliding across the ground only to stop some meters from its owner. The Reaper charged forward, red scythe held up high as the Dullahan turned, purple scythe arching low. The blades collided in a shower of spark and electricity. The flash between the two forced them to jump back, and up into the air, clashing blades far faster than what Corbin had been doing with the Zeta.

The Dullahan came down to a kneel on the roof, only to push off with the Reaper coming in hard, the blade of its scythe cutting deep into the building. From beneath the cloak came the bits, each little beam weapon rushing out to attack, but the Dullahan's 'mouth' opened. With a sweep the beam it fired tore through the line of bits, going on to cut a swathe of destruction in the city. Rock, smoke and snow kicked up in all directions with a backdrop of fire. The bits that weren't destroyed began to open fire, though Lala's machine again showed its grace with well timed vernier boosts which allowed it to pivot when needed to avoid a direct hit. She came within reach of one, her blade arching fast and cutting the weapon in two, leaving a small explosion as she moved on to the next. The bits scattered as the Reaper pushed up and again clashed with the Dullahan, the more feminine machine lurching back to avoid a surprise beam fire from either side. The beams passed harmlessly in front of the Reaper before it again charged only to duck as a low charged shot from the Dullahan's mouth cannon fired, intending to bore a hole through the cockpit.

Corbin watched from his position on the ground as the two clashed. He'd seen Lala fight before, but this was different. Was it because of the damage setting? With the threat of permanent damage to her machine, she's fighting on a different level? Was that his mistake, treating the fight like a normal battle? Or was it just skill alone? He wouldn't lie about it, she was better. What would he get out of it if he didn't acknowledge it. But for the life of him he couldn't understand why he hadn't improved. Hardly fought on par with that guy earlier, and now he was completely outclassed by a girl way younger than himself. Even after all the hard work Writ had put into helping him improve, it still wasn't enough, and now what was left of his borrowed machine could do nothing but watch as Lala fought the fight for him.

The Dullahan and Reaper again touched down in the street below, a staring contest lasting only but a few seconds before they again charged at one another. Before they came within meters of one another, the timer for the battle went off, and since Lala had come in late into the fight, the match was still considered in the unknown girls favor. A bit of a round of applause for the fight went off when the veils dropped and the system cooled down. In the center of the battle system lye the Gray Zeta, the ruined gunpla still lying on its back with its limbs missing. Other parts lay scattered about the field. Off to the side were the Dullahan and Reaper frozen in mid strike. Lala claimed her machine, never giving the girl a glance as she moved over to Corbin's side, the young man just standing with his arms at his sides and eyes focused on the Zeta. The girl in the school uniform growled, glaring daggers at Lala as she reached over and took her Reaper, the remaining bits that hadn't been destroyed and the remains of her Death Steed. Neither noticed the black haired girl with a red hoodie swooning over the scythe battle, thinking it was the coolest thing ever. She held a business card in her hand belonging to Writ, given to her earlier when the fight was midway through. She was already formulating ideas for her own scythe wielding gunpla, but was knocked out of daydreaming when a slightly older blonde came over and dragged her away by the back of her hoodie. The girl in said hoodie frowned as she wanted to ask about Lala's fighting style.

Back with the main group, Corbin stood with a ruined Zeta in hand, Writ just in front of him with his arms crossed. No word was said. Lala looked between the two, ready to get in Writ's way if it looked like he was going to be too harsh with him. Zane just watched, knowing this was something he didn't need to jump into.

"Well?" Writ asked, a hand moving to push his glasses up slightly.

Corbin shrugged. "What do you want me to say? I lost."

"I saw that. You fought better in the team battle we had earlier. What happened?"

"I… I don't know, okay!" His shoulders sagged, eyes cast to the floor. "I don't know."

"He has you for a trainer, probably!" The group turned and locked eyes onto the girl that had beaten who stood with her feet shoulder length apart and fists planted on her hips as she grinned evilly at them. "Not surprising really. With your teachings he was going to loose anyway."

Lala was about to give the girl a few choice words but Writ rested a hand on her shoulder, keeping her back as he approached the younger girl. He crossed his arms, staring down at her as she glared back. Silence fell between them with a bit of tension growing in the atmosphere.

"Who are you?"

Those close by and paying attention all but face planted into the floor at Writ's question. Even the girl herself, though she quickly got back to her feet, tiny finger wagging at Writ. "You know damn well who I am!?" She got a small judo chop to the top of her head. "Owowowow!"

"Language," Writ reprimanded as he crossed his arms.

Corbin looked between the two before looking to Zane. "Please tell me you know what's going on."

Zane gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry. It wasn't till I saw her machine that I recognized who she was." He straightened a bit, a serious look on his face. "Her name is Kayley Desmond. She's been in a few local tournaments under the moniker of Kill-ley. She's also famous for qualifying for the Nationals some time back at the age of nine. Youngest there is so far. That and her tendencies to be absolutely vicious in her fights. They never end with a quick win."

Corbin frowned. "So I've noticed."

"She lost to Greco Logan before the World Tournament, and because of how she likes to fight, didn't get a lot of sponsors to help support her for another shot." He gave a shrug. "Not a lot of people want someone representing their country by brutally tearing another persons gunpla apart."

Kayley rubbed the sore spot, fuming and glaring at Writ who just stared down at her. "You act big, but I know you're a poor excuse of a fighter."

"Where's the proof kid?"

"Don't call me kid!" she pointed a finger at him. "And the proof is from the where we met! After I defeated your friend, you and the other two ran off, scared to face me in the match to come." She grinned, fists on her hips. She held her head a bit higher too.

Writ shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"I carved up his White Assassin Frame."

Writ looked to be in thought, then a smile came to him as he gave nod. "Oh yea. I remember that build. I did most of the work myself but he did the programming on the GP Base."

"So you admit you all ran!"

Writ blinked. "What? Oh, no we didn't run from anything. Before the next match we got a call about my mother being in a bad car accident. We left so fast we forgot our clothes at the hotel we were staying at."

"I call bull shit!" Another chop to the top of her head had her hunched down. "Owowowowow! Stop that!"

"You're too young to be using that kind of language. Anyway, you've had your fun so you can go and do… whatever it is you do in this place besides destroy peoples gunpla." Writ turned to Corbin, the boy freezing when he saw the focus was back on him. "You and I are going to have a chat about that fight."

"Um… and your Zeta?"

Writ just stared at him with a blank look. "Did you forget I own a model store? I have stacks of Zetas. You wrecking one in a match was bound to happen."

Corbin just sulked, head dipping lower than before. "I forgot."

Zane however… "How do you forget something like that!?"

Writ took a step forward, but Kayley rushed in front, blocking his path. "No! I want a match! With you!" She shoved a finger in his direction, her other fist firmly on her hip. "No running this time. Just you and me."

Lala folded her arms under her breasts, ignoring the guys around her who began to stare as she gave a sigh over the situation. "Migh' as well ge' it over wit', Writ," she said, blowing a strand of silver hair from her face. "The lass doesn' look like she'll leave ya be."

"Ugh, fine," Writ relented, head dipping. Kayley jumped into the air. "Ten minutes. Get your gunpla ready in ten minutes. I don't want to hear anything about me cheating if your gunpla isn't in top form."

**NNN**

Josh entered the little hole-in-the-wall bar called _'O'Murphy's'_. He had closed Writ's shop early with a note that the weekend's festivities were canceled with the owner out of town. Some early showers were disappointed but were cool enough to spread the word so no one would waste their time showing up. It was when he was going to his car he got a call from an old friend he hadn't spoken to in some time and asked to meet at their old drinking grounds. None of the guys he ran with were into loud noises and flashy colors, so a small pub that had a quiet jukebox in the corner met their needs well enough. Though at times he still stopped by to have a drink or two, and no more.

Seeing it was the usual crowd, which consisted of about ten people all together and not including the bar tender or the girl busting tables, Josh spotted the man he had come to meet. Sandy blonde hair combed to a point in the front turned his way, goofy grin spreading on his face as he saw his buddy, and stood up from the booth. He wore the same torn and bleached denim pants with an old denim jacket, just as he remembered him from the last they spoke. Josh gave his own lopsided grin and approached, hand at the ready for a bro shake. "Brian, how's it going man?" he asked, the two locking hands and moving for a bro hug. One pat on either backs and they separated.

Brian at first, sliding into the booth with Josh climbing in on the other side. "Not much man, not much. Just living day to day with the family."

Josh noticed he had a beer already. Flagging the girl over, he asked for a lager and turned to his friend as she left. "I feel ya man. I'm the same way." He rested his hands on the table, locking fingers together while Brian took a swig of his beer. "So, what's the deal? Haven't heard from ya in forever and I get a call to come and meet you here?"

Brian looked out at the crowd, like he was watching out for someone, but looked back to Josh with a slightly worried look on his face. "You didn't tell Writ, did you?"

The waitress returned, Josh's beer at the ready. He took it and gave her the cash. He wasn't planning to have more than maybe two. But the question did bug Josh a bit, but not that he could blame Brian for it. He understood if he wanted this meeting to be secret from the guy. "He's out of town. I'm watching the store for him while he's gone. Everything okay?"

Brian leaned back in his seat, finger tapping on the table's surface as Josh took a sip. "I got a call from Adam."

Fresh cold lager spewed from Josh's mouth like a squeezed can, Brian barely missing the mist. Josh fell into a coughing fit while Brian tried to clean up the mess with a napkin. "cough-Adam?" Another cough or two. "Our Adam? Adam Winslow?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" Brian asked, tossing a napkin to the side.

"When? Where? Is he in town? For god sakes man answer me..."

"Relax okay, I'm getting to that." Brian shook his head, never once having seen Josh get this excited. "He's been in town for some time, from what he told me. Just been laying low, keeping to himself. Got a loft over by the river, big place."

Josh sighed. "Not surprised. He always talked about getting one. But he's been gone for two years. Where's he been?"

"Everywhere from what he told me." Brian again looked around, like he was trying to find the proper words to say. "But that's not what he called me about."

"Then what was it?"

"He wanted to show me something. Something big; something… out of this world."

**NNN**

Writ groaned as he watched the school girl in pigtails bounce on the balls of her feet, her Reaper Gundam mounted on its Death Steed firmly held between her hands as she grinned evilly at him. He rolled his eyes, tucking his left hand into his pocket while the other rested on his GP Base. "You ready?"

"Ready to cut you up!"

The system powered on, the veils dropped in a dance of blue particles and the synthetic voice of the machine's OS announced the start of the match. Corbin, Zane, and Lala were to the side, watching one of the main monitors pop up with the fight, the scene showing a mountainous snow area. Harsh winds whipped in each direction kicking snow everywhere.

Kayley's gunpla touched down, Death Steed kicking up puffs of snow as it trotted around before stopping. The Reaper sat straight, scythe activated and held to the side. She waited as a dark spot in the distance quickly approached in a trail of red/orange particles. She watched the black Astraea touch down in the snow some meters away from her. She saw no long range rifle of any kind but that didn't mean it wasn't armed. The shield was gone as well. The only visible weapon she saw on the machine was the large sword it carried. It wasn't a standard weapon for a GN based machine either, nor like the one carried by the GNW-002 Gundam Throne Zwei or the Tactical Arms unit carried by the MBF-P03SecondL Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L. It was as long as the gundam was tall, and half as thick with a double edge. The tip however was flat. If anything it looked like a slab of meal on a stick with a sharp edge to it. The Nemesis Astraea held it in a reverse grip in the right hand, the blade sinking into the snow. "So whatcha gonna do with that?" Kayley asked.

"You'll see," Writ said. The Nemesis Astraea hunkered low, left hand reaching for the grip, facing opposite of the right.

The Reaper tensed, scythe held a little higher. "That slab of metal got a name?"

Writ shrugged. "Don't really have a name for it. I just call it the Dragon Slayer."

"Its name won't mean anything in a minute!"

The Death Steed reared back, front legs kicking in the air. The second it came down, the horse and rider charged, beam scythe held out to the side. Bits quickly flew from under the cloak, charging ahead towards the Nemesis Astraea. The sword wielding gunpla turned hard, the sword dragged fiercely through the snow and into the air, kicking it up to blind Kayley's view. Her bits fired, punching through the cloud of snow but the Astraea was gone, having already skirted the outer edge and charging the Reaper from the side with the Dragon Slayer gripped in both hands in a proper fashion. Kayley turned her machines around, the underbelly beam cannon of her steed firing a single charged blast. Writ spun on a dime, the beam passing harmlessly. With the momentum of the spin, he brought the sword around, its reach giving him the stretch he needed. Kayley's machine just barely jumped out of the way, the sword coming within inches of her horse. With momentum and the weight of the sword pulling the Astraea around, Writ pushed forward, shoulder rushing the gunpla.

Kayley grinned, her Reaper leaping off the Death Steed with the scythe held over head to bring down on the Nemesis Astraea. But the GN based machine stepped back as it came down, the heat of the scythe instantly melting the snow. Steam poured out in the area only to part as a swarm of bits came chasing the Astraea. The large sword acted as a makeshift shield as the bits fired. Writ raised its free arm, firing from the wrist its GN vulcan in short bursts. Two bits were hit but the rest scattered.

The Death Steed charged as the Nemesis Astraea stopped, the gundam avoiding the horse's horn with snow kicking up from their feet. It was given a boot by the Nemesis, sending the horse over and onto its side. The Reaper again came down on high, but the scythe was blocked by the Dragon Slayer. With impressive strength the Nemesis pushed the Reaper back before it could even touch the ground, though the gundam had to skirt away with a burst of vulcan fire as the bits came at it once more. Another bit was destroyed but the rest managed to avoid the barrage.

Writ had to admit she was good for her age. Most would have a difficult time controlling two machines, let alone two machines and a murder of bits. _Would that be an apt description of a grouping of bits?_ He thought, bringing the Dragon Slayer around to block another barrage of beam spamming from the bits. He kicked up a wall of fresh powder with his sword, the snow managing to bury one but the rest managed to punch through after another volley of beam spam.

**NNN**

Corbin's jaw dropped a little, watching Writ move the Nemesis Astraea about the snow. He watched each movement the machine made, and just couldn't think of how he was doing it. He was on par with Kayley's Reaper Gundam, managing to not only face off against the shrouded gunpla but also deal with the horse and bits with nothing but the arm mounted GN vulcans and the oversized sword he was using. He'd fought Writ and had been trained by him, but had yet to see him pushed. Even when he and Lala were working out the bugs in his build when he was rebuilding it from his fight with that stranger, they didn't look to be going at it like this.

"Wow, they're really going at it," Zane said, getting Corbin's attention. Zane's jaw had dropped a little, eyes following the flow of both machines as they battled it out in the frozen tundra. More bits were destroyed or buried in the snow, the Death Steed trying to jump in and impale the Nemesis Astraea but the black machine kept up its pace, shifting between it and its rider the Reaper. The large sword smacked the horse away before turning to its owner. He watched the scythe again be deflected by the large sword before Writ turned to deal with the horse once more. "The sword must have an anti-beam coating to it. That would explain how he can touch the thermal blade and it not cut through."

"Can you tell who's winning?" Corbin asked, turning back to the fight. The battle had shifted down hill, the two machines dueling it out with the Nemesis on the retreat and the Reaper and its Death Steed in chase. The Nemesis turned, sword held in defense like a shield as the steed charged. The last second the sword dipped, ramping the horse up and with a push from the black gundam, tossed the horse into the air, the animal machine whining as it flipped end over. His eyes widen when he saw the Reaper close in, scythe swinging horizontally to cleave the Nemesis in half as the sword was still held in high over head from the earlier toss. A boost from the Nemesis pushed forward into the Reaper, the pole half of the weapon striking just the shoulder. The weapon however was lost as the two tumbled in the snow.

"Really hard to tell," Zane admitted.

**NNN**

Nemesis Astraea stood, hand gripping the tattered cloak of the Reaper and pulled as it boosted back. The cloth was torn away, the machine beneath revealed as a modified XXX-01D2 Death Scythe Hell. The face of the machine wore a mask of a skull, the chest etched with a demonic face on it. Without the cloak it was fully revealed it wore two buster shields on its arms. The pincers of the shield opened, red beam blades igniting with the sound of breaking glass. The Nemesis released the torn cloak, letting it flutter away in the wind while it reached back, taking a GN saber in a reverse grip. It leveled the grip in front, red blade activating a second later with a low hum. Neither moved. The winds kicked up fiercely, the sun dipping in the horizon. The glow of the gunpla's optics and active beam weapons were the only lights to be seen in the frozen tundra.

"Chechecheche, this fight was better than I expected, but you're still going to get cut up," taunted Kayley, grin splitting from ear to ear. "This kind of fight are the ones I enjoy the most! Thinking you're on even ground, already planning your victory till I snatch it out from under you! Chechecheche!"

Writ gave no reply, simply focusing on the fight. The dying light only heightened the glow of their weapons, but the machines were slowly slipping into the encroaching darkness. Though he could see the blade, it was the movements on the machine which aided him in predicting the movements of his enemy. Most likely she was the same.

The tension broke when the Death Steed emerged from beneath the snow, most likely getting buried in the cold powder when it came back down from Writ's earlier tossing. He spun the Nemesis around, the saber's blade sinking deep into the neck of the machine. Kayley aimed her shields forward, the left launching off in a spiral from its vernier jets, shortly followed by the right. Seeing the two corkscrewing blades hurdling his way, Writ moved the horse in their path, kicking it's remains forward. Both struck, blades burrowing into its hide till the machine exploded, casting the growing darkness aside with the light of fire. The shields, tethered to lines running to the Reaper's arms, were pulled back and mounted, blades again ignited. With a battle cry, Kayley rushed forward with the blade ready to stab at the Nemesis. Writ blocked the left one with his own saber, but had to grapple hand to hand with the other to stop it from stabbing his machine. Having the momentum on it's side, Kayley managed to push the Nemesis back and fall towards the ground, but the boost of the Double-O series machine's GN Drive kept it from crashing into the snow. The knee came up into the stomach of the Reaper, a quick boost flipping the two over with the Nemesis launching the Reaper away.

Kayley growled, seeing the world tun over from her machine's view, but launched her shields again. "I'm not going to loose to you!"

She received no reply. Writ rolled his machine onto its feet in time to dodge one but the second came close. The pincer clipping the left arm, small shards of armor torn from the glancing blow. The Nemesis reached out, gripping the wire cable that linked it to the Reaper. Writ yanked hard, dragging the Reaper out of the air and down, plummeting into the tundra with a white cloud bellowing upward. When the Reaper was back on its feet, it was clutching the earlier discarded beam scythe. Kayley pulled on the line, but Writ held it firm. She recalled the remaining one back, cutting free the line Writ held. Tension lost, the Nemesis stumbled back, nearly loosing its footing. Just enough of a distraction for Kayley as her Reaper dashed forward, scythe held out for a cleaving strike. Writ barely had time to draw the second GN saber, both blades used to block the scythe, the blade coming dangerously close to its mid section. It was now a test of strength between the two, the Reaper pushing hard against the twin sabers of the Nemesis, red sparks of electricity dancing between the colliding blades.

Kayley cackled again, her blood pumping. She was thoroughly enjoying the fight. Her last fight left her a bit unfulfilled; like a bad aftertaste. The Dullahan woman was fun, but this was what she wanted. Corbin's little beating, though greatly satisfying, just wasn't enough. It would have been better had he used the Silver Frame Astray of his like he had back at the tournament, but beating a superior machine like the Astraea would be all the more sweeter.

Writ sighed, eyes closed for a second before saying, "Well, I'm done."

Kayley blinked. "What? Giving up? Throwing in the towel already?"

Writ shook his head. "Nah. 'Never give up on a good fight." He gave a small smile. "And this is a good one. It's just I came here to relax, have a few drinks and dance a little." His left hand turned the control orb to display sub commands. He looked over for a second, his fingers cycling through the options till he found the one he wanted and activated it. "So I'm gonna go ahead and end this quick."

Kayley was about to question him, but the Nemesis began to glow with its GN Drive putting out more and more particles, condensers growing brighter in color. Though it had a tint of red, due to its black paint job, the Nemesis Astraea began to change into a purple color. "No!" she shouted, knowing full well what was coming. In all the excitement she had forgotten that his machine may have been capable of Trans-AM. "You cheater! I won't let you win!" She pulled back from the Nemesis, bracing as the glowing gunpla stumbled forward. With a roar she pushed her machine to swing with everything it had only for the red blade to cut through a cloud of particles, a wall of white powder kicked up in the wake of the dodging Nemesis Astraea.

The glowing gunpla dashed through the snow, towering wall of powder trailing behind it. The Reaper's surviving bits chased after the machine, just barley keeping up with it. Writ fired back with the arm vulcans, procession shots blowing away the remaining bits before he turned back to his intended target. The Dragon Slayer was still embedded in the snow, handle aimed at the heavens. The minute he took hold, he snatched it out of the ground and turned back towards the Reaper. Its head vulcans fired, streaming around the swift movements of the Nemesis. Kayley gave another war cry, the verniers of her Reaper pushing her machine in a mad dash to meet the Nemesis Astraea halfway. She swung down at an angle, the blade coming down on the Astraea from the right. The gunpla slowed, dodging to its left with a spin as the scythe came inches away from it. It spun around the Reaper. Kayley watched her screens as her machine looked over the shoulder to see the Nemesis as it stopped, red optics brightening in anticipation for what was to come. The Dragon Slayer was already halfway through an overhead strike that would cleave any gunpla in half…

**NNN**

Josh sat his third beer down, a bowl of half eaten nachos to his left. He let everything Brian told him sink in. Coming from a second party, the details were still very clear. Adam had done something… extraordinary. But his companion didn't seem to believe it. He could see Brian waiting for a reply. Anything most likely at this point. "Do you believe it?" he asked, taking another nacho up.

Brian shook his head, leaning back in the booth. "No… at least I don't want to."

"Why?"

"Why would I want not to believe? Its crazy!" he nearly shouted but caught himself at the last second. "Jumping worlds? Interfering with the time line and lives of another universe?"

"Maybe it was more like TRON, and just ended up in a program or something."

"Are you taking any of this seriously?"

Josh huffed, hands resting on the surface of the table. "What do you want me to say? Yes its crazy." He drummed his fingers on the table. "But this is Adam. You really think after being gone for two years he'd pitch a bad fan-fiction like that to us? You said he originally intended it to be some new gunpla gimmick." He drummed his fingers again. "If I could talk with him..."

Brian shook his head. "No. He didn't want anyone knowing he was here. Not yet anyway. I promised to keep quiet so as not to spook him into running." He watched Josh nod, and let out a sigh. "He said he only needed a few days to get his 'ducks in a row' sort of speak. Probably wants to announce this whole world hopping thing to everyone."

"Or just to talk," Josh added, taking another bite of his nachos.

Brian nodded. "Or just to talk. You know that will involve Writ, right?"

Josh gave a groan, leaning back in his seat in the booth. "Yea. That's going to be an awkward atmosphere."

"How is Writ?"

Josh shrugged. "Still a bit cocky, but not as much as he used to be. Mellowed out some. Still parties nearly every weekend."

"He get himself a girlfriend that lasted more than a day?"

"Not yet but there is this girl, Lala, who hangs out with him all the time."

"How serious?"

Josh shrugged. "She's been hanging around with us for a year now. They seem close but I think Writ's a little dense on how she may feel."

Brian shook his head. "Figures. The one possible girl that may be more than a one night stand and he doesn't see it. Adam would have pointed it out by now."

Josh gave another shrug before finishing off his beer, sliding the empty bottle aside to the other two. "Figured I'd let him figure it out on his own. He'd be an idiot if he didn't notice it."

**NNN**

Corbin's eye twitched as he eyed Kayley at the opposite side of the table. The girl was sitting there with a milk shake, glaring at him from time to time while shooting a glare at Writ who sat casually next to her. Lala was just opposite, sipping on some colorful looking drink. You wouldn't peg her for something so… girly looking considering how she looked. Zane was off somewhere, some girl catching his eye after the battle and following her off the display area where they could chat in private. Writ had won the fight, his Dragon Slayer having cut Kayley's machine completely in half. Corbin thought it was the end of it, but she threw a fit and accused him of cheating, which Writ brushed off. To compensate he promised to send her a new gunpla in the mail, and would by her a milk shake. She demanded two; he agreed.

"Why are you staring at me?" Corbin asked, taking a sip of his coke.

Kayley continued to glare, sipping slowly on her straw. "You're training under him," she threw a thumb at Writ, who was watching the dance floor, "and you still suck?"

Corbin's eye twitched again. "Why are you still here? Don't you have a kitten to drown somewhere?"

Lala suppressed a laugh, taking a small sip of her drink. "Eh got ya there, lass."

"Think you should stick with just building, cause you suck."

Corbin growled. "This coming from the girl who got what was coming to her." His anger grew when she just shrugged.

"Win some, loose few."

Corbin said nothing and just sipped from his drink. Lala gave a soft smile. She moved over to his side of the booth, giving him a nudge with her shoulder. "Hey, ya did goo' fer a solo fight. Lasted longer than I though' ya would."

Corbin felt a little warmth come to his cheeks. "Thanks Lala. Still got Writ's Zeta wrecked though."

"That wasn't even your gunpla!?" Kayley shouted, standing up in her seat, hands firmly on the surface of the table. "You used someone else gunpla and still lost? How bad off are you?" She waved him off before he could reply, returning to her milk shake. "Whatever, probably suck at building too."

"Hey!" Corbin looked to Writ. "You're just going to sit there?"

Writ turned back to him, noticing all eyes except Kayley's were on him. "What? You letting her words get the better of you?" Writ waved it off, turning to look back at the crowd. "You shouldn't care what others say about your builds or your style. Its yours. You fought, you lost, move on." He looked back to his employee. "Its not the end of the world. You learn from it, build up from it, and get better."

Corbin opened his mouth to respond but nothing came. His mouth closed, eyes focused on the table as he let those words sink in while his hand unconsciously rested on his gunpla's carrying pouch. Doing so, he could almost feel the remains of the Zeta, the memory of his defeat coming back to him in every detail. Then his memory went to Lala and Writ's fight. He saw the large gap in experience between them and himself. Even Kayley, who was younger than himself had more skill. A prodigy in of herself but still, she knew how to use her machine's abilities and how to push her opponent. His shoulder sagged. There was still a lot he needed to learn.

The night ended some hours later after a bit of dancing and a few non-alcoholic drinks. Writ didn't trust anyone driving his car so elected not to have another beer and settled on water and coke. Lala though became blitzed by the time ten o'clock rolled around and had begun to unceremoniously flirt with Corbin and Writ, while trying to pick a fight a few girls in the crowd. Though Writ couldn't understand why she had an issue with them. They just wanted to dance, right? Kayley had long since disappeared when her older brother came and got her. She vowed to get even with Writ, the man in question still off dancing somewhere.

When all was said and don Zane was taken back to his hotel, scoring a girls phone number from the _Underground_. Writ carried Lala back to her room, tucking her in her bed and returned to his and Corbin's shared room, the boy staring at the remains of the Zeta in deep thought. Writ said nothing, leaving the boy to his thoughts as he went to bathroom. When the door was shut, he removed his shirt, grimacing slightly as he did. Being lack, his arm hid the slight red stain of blood on his left arm, so no one was wise about the wound. With the shirt off he could see it clearly now. A light cut, nothing to worry about. No stitches required. But still… "It happened again," he said, sighing as he took a wash cloth and placed it in the sink's running water. During the fight he felt that… connection happen again. Kayley was better than he had anticipated and in pushing his machine, he unintentionally made that link with his gunpla. "Assimilation," he whispered as his discussion with Ral came back to him. He couldn't deny the boost in his gunpla's abilities. Even with Trans-AM. But rotating his arm slightly, he wondered if it was worth the risk. What would have happened if he had lost? He grimaced at the thought of a real killing blow. Bu the scrape was light. Almost like a paper cut, but long enough for a good deal of blood to leak and stain his sleeve.

Washing the wound, he saw no other issue except a slight bruising around it. He left the bathroom, making sure Corbin didn't see the wound, and slipped on a clean shirt to sleep in. He told the young battler he was calling it a night and slipped into his bed, Corbin giving a quiet 'goodnight' while still examining his gunpla.

Corbin listened as Writ fell asleep, the man giving a light snore in a matter of minutes. Looking back at the hotel dresser, he saw the remains of the Zeta, and next to it stood the Bawoo Gundam. He stared at it for the longest before taking it up and his GP Base. The hotel had a battle system down in the lobby. He was going to need the practice if he was going to use the machine…

**NNN**

The Shining Gundam Goku Custom hit the canyon floor, rock breaking loose and collapsing down on the shattered gunpla. Though not totally burying the gunpla, Goku had a hard time climbing out of the rubble. His power pole was lost long ago in the fight, along with his gunpla's left arm. It moved to stand, only to fall to a knee as an actuator gave out, sparks and smoke coming from the wounded joint. He looked up, half the face of his machine damaged and an eye lens shattered. at the top of the canyon, seeing his opponents looking down on him. Their gunplas stood in the path of the sun, giving nothing but a shadowed silhouette. He had completely underestimated their fighting abilities, and it had cost him. That and being overly confident that he himself could win. He could help but smile though. It was a good fight. Better than most he had recently, even at Writ's shop.

One to the left was obviously a Nobel Gundam build, the shoulder rose to a point on either side. At it side it carried a single katana, the left hand resting on the end of the handle.

On the far right was XVB-XD Farsia. Oddly enough in its hands it carried a parasol, though on its rear weapon mount it carried one half of the gunpla style scissor sword.

Though those two had been on even ground with his custom Shining Gundam, Goku had the most difficulty fighting the one standing in the center. It hovered down between the two, legs folding out from beneath the long skirt armor. At its full height, it stood over the other two, hand resting on its hip and heels together; a OZ-15AGX Hydra Gundam. A bit of a rainbow glow came from its nearly swallowing the light of the sun behind it.

Goku grinned, his gunpla's remaining hand curling into a fist. He wasn't done quite yet. The remaining plate on his gunpla's face opened, the one good optic glowing brightly as his machine began to turn gold for the second time in this fight. With a roar, he boosted towards the group of three, his gunpla's fist writhing in green fire…

**To Be Continued…**

**Wow. Took too long to get this out, but its done. Would like to thank Z-King for the use of their character, Kayley Desmond and her custom Reaper Gundam and also StoryLover213's Zane Morgan. These two will be featured later on when I get to the Destiny portion of my little series I've got going on. And with this out of the way I can focus on the next chapter of Eyes in Seed. If you haven't read it, its the main focus to this side story, featuring my other character Adam Winslow and where Brian made his first appearance. Its a Seed/GBF crossover if you haven't read it yet, though from the reviews and faves I'd say a good number of people have.**

**At the end of that chapter, I will be asking to see if anyone else would like their OC to make an appearance in my series of fics. I will be accepting only one, but do not start submitting character sheets till the fic is done. Please. I'll be looking for a male char to be added since I have a female with Kayley Desmond. Rules will be added as well so we don't have an overly powerful Mary/Gary Sue on our hands with an OP gunpla.**

**And though I'm commenting on it on this fic, I will be making comments on some of my reviewers to their remarks to my fellow fanfic writers. No one will be named, but I bet some of you can guess who it is I'm speaking to and or about.**

**I'm not the best writer out there. I've made mistakes in many areas. I was highly surprised my fic was accepted with high praise, and that it has inspired many others to do their own works. But I ask that you all please not beat down on my fellow writers. I've seen their works. Some I like, other not so much. Some of their own ideas give me ideas as well and they are brave enough to post their ideas with the risk of harsh criticism. My hat is off to you who are willing to take the punches. I've been asked for my own opinion about their works and I have given an honest answer, not in anyway to be harsh or biased but truthful. And I won't say I'm better than the others. I'm not. I will ask you all to be honest but not cruel. If you have a review to make to one's work, do not beat them down. Its their style and method of writing, let them do it. We writers aren't getting paid for this, we aren't winning grand prizes, we're all doing this for fun and to inspire and/or share ideas for/with others.**

**I'm not saying don't be honest with your reviews, just don't be doing it to be cruel and to hurt someone because you don't agree with what they write. That is all I ask.**

**Keep writing, and have fun. Share your ideas; share the worlds you create. Till next chapter…**


	5. Wings of the Raven

**Gundam Build Fighter N**

I do not own Gundam or any other anime/cartoon/comic/manga/game characters that appear in this fan fiction. Enjoy.

**Chapter 5: Wings of the Raven **

Josh gave an exaggerated yawn as he left his truck. He spun the ring of keys in his hand as he marched towards the model store. Sleep was a problem for him with the knowledge that Adam was somewhere in town. Brian kept his mouth shut on his location but Josh was sure he could find him. There were very few lofts in the city. And Adam wasn't a big spender despite his inheritance. He'd get a modest sized loft with enough room for the… project he had. Josh shook his head at the thought. Breaching dimensions. He wanted to scoff at the idea. But this was Adam. He wasn't one to make up insane stories to get attention. And he was much smarter than he appeared.

Maybe he'd go and look for him after the day ended. Put some of his cop skills to use in tracking him down. Even off duty, secretly, a badge can open some doors.

Writ and the crew would return late in the evening, so it was still his task of watching over the shop. He fumbled with the keys for a second as he stepped to the glass door. Finding the proper key he unlocked the door, dashing over quickly to input the alarm code before police either called or started to show up for a possible break in. Following that was the arduous task of turning on the computer and the register, rolling the security fence on the window up, and the very simple task of flipping on the open sign. His hand was only inches away from the on switch when the door opened, a panting figure standing in the frame. Josh paused when he took in the look of the pregnant woman who was frantically looking for something before her eyes landed on him. "Chichi?"

The future mother of Goku's unborn child took in a deep breath before walking towards Josh, composing her appearance as she did so. "Joshua, is Writ here?" she asked, again her eyes looking around the shop in a frantic pace. "I really need to talk with him."

"No, sorry," he replied with his eyebrow arching slightly. "Is something wrong?"

Chichi let out a sigh, a look of worry washing over her face. "Its Goku. I think something is wrong."

"Did something happen to him?" The most that could probably put that man down was either a mac truck or there was no food. He had the energy of a hundred men and it took a lot to keep that man down.

"I had him run an errand over to the mall yesterday evening." She shook her head. "It shouldn't have taken as long as it had but Goku came home much later than he should have, and went straight to his private room. He's been there all night."

Josh's shoulders sagged. With a shake of his head he said, "Chichi, he's probably just working out for some tournament that he came across. I don't think he's been in a match for a while now, am I right?" He turned back to the Open light.

"He didn't eat dinner, Joshua."

Josh paused. He moved and turned the computer and register off before resetting the alarm. He quickly ushered the now confused woman out the door and locked the shop back up. He turned and faced Chichi. "Where did you send him and for what?"

Chichi stood for a few seconds blinking in confusion before responding with, "I asked him to stop by the mall to pick up a few things for the restaurant."

"Did he come home with the items you asked?"

"No."

"And he's been in his room all night?"

"Yes. He hasn't had anything to eat since lunch yesterday and I'm beginning to worry. Do you think something happened to him last night?"

Josh shook his head. "Worry about Goku, no. If he seemed fine when coming in I'm sure nothing bad happened. However something has gotten to him if he's brushing off food." He looked to the ground, eyes shifting as he lost himself in thought before looking to Chichi, hand resting on her shoulder. "Just go back to the restaurant. I'll look into this."

Chichi nodded. "Sure. I… I asked him to stop by that little houseware store. The one that sells the expensive utensils. If that helps anything."

"That'll do. Head home and keep an I on him."

**NNN**

The sun was beating down on the beach sands of the west coast of _Gunpla City_. The sounds of '_Pour Some Sugar on Me_' could be heard from one group of gunpla, Nobel Gundam custom builds with their color and hairs styles, all playing a game of volleyball. To the side there was a group of mono-eyed mobile suits staring a little too hard at the game. Other gunpla of various builds and types were either sitting by the water's edge or in the water itself. SD types were running around like children with either their real type counter parts following or other builds playing with them.

One particular Nobel build, with its silver locks and dark armor lounged casually in a lounge chair, arms behind its head. Lala hummed some unknown song as her gunpla just continued to laze about, her cameras locked on the image of the Nemesis Astraea with the Bawoo Gundam out in the waters, having their 'man to man' moment as Writ was again assisting Corbin with his piloting skills. This time with them being in deep waters. She couldn't help but laugh as the Astraea picked up the unexpected Bawoo and lifted it up above its head. The red Bawoo thrashed with Corbin cursing over an open channel before being tossed into the water.

"That wasn't very nice of him," Mia commented as her gunpla sat next to the Dullahan, tail coiled beneath it to sit on. She tried to ignore the stares they were getting from the other gunplas and their builders/or fighters.

"The lad will be fine," Lala commented.

Below the waters though, Corbin fought to keep his machine balanced and to not sink so far down below. He gave a slight panic though when he saw something that resembled a shark moving his way. Even in the waters he could make out its black and blue colors highlighted by clear yellow parts. Instantly though its form changed as it approached, going from some form of shark mobile armor to a mobile suit. Grey colored optics lit up the water like two pools of silver alongside the clear yellow parts.

"The hell is that?" Corbin asked, his view turning over as again his Bawoo Gundam was floating awkwardly. He was a little more confused on it as it sat in the water with its legs crossed, turning over to match his gunpla's movement.

Writ's image appeared on the screen to his right, another of a younger male to his left flashed a big grin, dark eyes with matching dark shaggy hair greeted him. "Corbin, meet Sammy 'Sharky' Johan. He's going to be your instructor for underwater combat."

"Hi!" the boy called, his gunpla shifting into a pose. "Writ said you may need some help since you're a noob at this."

Corbin looked to Writ with a deadpan expression. "You can't be serious."

"Oh I'm dead serious," Writ said as he glanced to Sammy's Sea Hunter. A very rare gunpla the Sea Hunter. Mostly because the machine was never made into a real gunpla. A scratch build built up from using the UT-1D Civilian Astray DSSD Custom as a base. It was one of the more difficult builds Writ had the privilege to assist in, but Sammy did most of the work. Writ, like most of the time, simply supplied the parts needed. "He's going to help you with balancing and movements. So I'll leave you in his care while I hang out with the girls." The drive kicking in, the Nemesis Astraea pushed up out of the deep waters before Corbin could protest. Up in the fresh simulated air Writ moved over to land by the girls, his touch down signaling the dispersal of on looking gunpla that had been staring too hard at the girls. "Having fun?"

Lala shrugged. "Its 'light. How's the lad?"

Writ looked back in time to see the Bawoo Gundam get launched out of the waters, flailing about in the air before sinking back down. The Sea Hunter came up in its 'Mobile Animal' form before plunging down on top of the Bawoo. "Looks good to me so far."

"His gunpla won't get damaged will it?" Mia asked with a hint of worry.

"Nah, he'll be fine. Remember there isn't a high level damage setting in this city your old man made, so he'll be fine." Writ took a moment to look around. "Anyone seen Zane?"

**NNN**

Currently Zane Morgan was exploring the city through the eyes of his gunpla, taking in the sites as it were. Though he arrived later than his newly acquired friends, he had managed to repair his Zero Knight, the Unicorn based gunpla moving about the city in its default mode. Considering the city had a no fighting policy he forgo his weapons and shield, leaving him with his base machine. Though if by some miracle weapons could be used, he still had his beam sabers. This though allowed him to examine other builds without the threat of being attacked, and he had to admit he was seeing far more impressive builds than he originally thought he would. Some were of the straight build variety. Other were of simple custom paint jobs with some being more flashy than others. Of course you had your typical group who believed in 'you can have it in any color you want, so long as it was black.' He had nothing against it mind you but it felt very unimaginative. Which reminded him of the thorn in his side. Or more appropriately behind him. "Why are you following me?"

The Zero Knight turned to face the Reaper Gundam, which stood shrouded in its cloak. It gave off an aura that said, 'keep your distance' but it somewhat seemed comical how it had been following Zane and his gunpla around. "Cause I'm booooooooored!" exclaimed Kayley. "There are all these gunpla around and no one is fighting."

"It's a combat free environment," explained Zane, for the millionth time since she started stalking him five paces back. "There isn't fighting allowed. Not unless you plan to throw a punch or something."

"I could throw you," she snapped.

"You can try," countered Zane as he rounded the corner onto the next street. He shifted slightly to avoid a pair of GiNNs as they passed, both in varying custom colors. Adding in detail, they sported warning labels and logos across various portions of the gunpla's shell. Though they carried weapons Zane was sure they were inactive due to the city's limitations put in place.

The pair however quickly got out of the Reaper's way as Kayley passed, the optics hidden beneath the weathered cowl flashing dangerously at the two. "So what are you looking for?"

"I'm site seeing."

"You can do that in the air."

"But being down here I have a better view of the other gunplas. I enjoy the different designs and styles of work."

The Reaper Gundam looked to sulk a bit, if that was even possible. "Whatever," was Kayley's only response. "So where is Zeta boy and that jerk Writ?"

"Continuing Corbin's training in 'the art of gunpla battling', as he put it. For now its control and coordination in watery environments."

"So they're at the beach then?"

"Yep." He zoomed in on an AGE-01 Razor. The basic black and white color scheme wasn't anything big but matched with the clear red blades instead of green was interesting to look at.

"So let's go there then. I'm sure what you're looking for would be there."

"You just want to go there and start trouble."

"So?"

Zane just sighed.

**NNN**

Josh left the houseware store, a tired sigh escaping him. Right hand rubbed at his eyes and temple. He was in need of some coffee. It was still too early in the morning for this detective crap he was doing, but he promised Chichi he'd look into what happened with Goku. So far the employees that were there now weren't there during the shift that Goku would have been at the mall, and the shift change wouldn't happen for another few hours. He still had to go back and open the shop for the day, though Josh was sure Writ would understand if he explained the circumstances.

Still early in the morning, the mall was slowly building a crowd. It was the weekend so things were bound to get lively after a while. Especially by the local model store. School was out for the summer and kids were wanting to see or buy new gunpla. And those with their own machines would want to fight. Writ's place wasn't bad, just far and out of the way, so it comes as no surprise when people prefer to go to the one that wasn't a hassle to get to.

That got Josh thinking as he moved to the guard rail that over looked the ground floor from the second. He could see it just to the right and on down past a few other stores. Looking to the escalator, it wasn't too far either. If Goku was to head to the houseware store, he'd have to pass the model store in order to get to the escalator. Josh liked the guy and even showed him a few moves he uses on the job when having to deal with certain unruly individuals, but God help the man he could get distracted easily. Especially if there was an interesting battle taking place.

With a new target of interest acquired Josh moved down to the first floor, eyes locked firmly on the model store. The security gate was up and already a small crowd was inside. The neon sign of _'Crazy Hobbies'_ flashed in a rainbow of colors with a red remote racecar running beneath it, a neon white design of smoke pluming behind it. The store owner was a nice family man, and had no interest in competing with Writ. Writ himself even battled here from time to time, but mostly when he was low on particles for his own machine . Thinking on it, if Josh was correct, this was the place he and Corbin had first met.

The owner in question was at the counter now checking out a customer that Josh had seen from time to time. Christopher Dovel if he remembered correctly. Something about the guy rubbed Josh the wrong way at times when he saw him, but he was a beast of a fighter with his Extreme Gundam Type Leos. Maybe it was because he seemed like a different person when he battled? Josh had noted that he acted different when his Type Leos used one of its different forms/packs in battle.

The rotund individual got his goods and left, pausing as he noticed Josh. "Yo, Officer Bailey!" he shouted, though it wasn't necessary considering they were within decent hearing range of one another. He never referred to Josh by his name in a casual sense. He always called him out as a police officer. Especially in public. "What brings you to this end of town?"

Josh gave a casual glance around, seeing a number of regulars that frequented this store and Writ's own. "I guess you could say I'm investigating." He did notice to the side though one unfamiliar person. A young woman, probably 17 with black hair with a single bit of her bangs dyed red. As she looked around, he took stock of her blues eyes, dark as ocean waters. What stood out though was the black sailor fuku she wore with sneakers and a letterman jacket with the sleeves rolled up. Along with that just some plane sneakers and fingerless gloves. _Is that still a thing in todays fashion?_ He mused.

Christopher followed his gaze. "Investigating younger women?" he asked. "As a cop you should know that is illegal."

Josh gave a subtle glare. "Nothing like that. Chichi is worried about something that may have happened to her husband yesterday evening and I'm seeing what might have occurred."

"That Goku guy, right?"

"Yea."

"So why are you scoping her out?"

"Because she stands out."

"How so? Looks cute, no doubt about that."

"That uniform doesn't belong to any school in these parts."

"And you know that how?"

"As you so pointed out, I'm a cop. It's my job to notice things. And I noticed that uniform doesn't belong to any of the schools in this area or the next. That plus her obvious Japanese heritage."

Christopher gave a shrug and proceeded out the store. "Whatever. Man now I've got a craving for some Chinese or something."

Josh watched the young man of 21 move on before proceeding to the counter, but not before giving the girl one last glance. She looked irritated and bored at the same time. Shifting from one foot to the next, he guessed she was waiting for someone.

The store owner, Michael Dart, noticed Josh's approach and smiled in greeting. "Good morning! How may I help you?" He squinted slightly before realization hit him. "Oh! Joshua Bailey, right? Friend of Writ's?" Josh gave a nod. "Welcome! What brings you here?"

Josh leaned onto the counter. "Business unfortunately. You know Goku, right? Muscled guy with wild hair?"

"Yes, of course," Michael said with a single nod. Hard to miss that fellow really. Never seemed down about anything and always carried a smile on his face. The world could stand to have more people like him around. "Actually saw him yesterday."

Josh nodded. He had a lead. "Good. Did anything funny happen when he was around?"

"Nothing much. Though there was a bit of a fuss just as he came in."

Josh frowned. "A fuss?"

Michael nodded in a direction past Josh. Looking back to see what the friendly store owner was getting at Josh took notice of the teen girl from earlier, still looking irritated as before. "That girl got into a bit of a gunpla battle with some other girls. Two on one and it just wasn't in her favor. Goku saw the fight and found it to be a bit unfair so he jumped in."

_Must have been one hell of a fight,_ Josh thought as he turned away from her. _But Goku is the type of guy who wouldn't let an unfair fight slip him by. They must have been really giving that poor girl hell. Bullies maybe? _"What was the battle setting?"

Michael closed his eyes and shook his head. "It was set to A. That poor girl's gunpla was getting thrashed. Goku stepped in like I said and gave a hand, evening the fight but when that third fighter jumped in it was over."

_A third fighter?_ "So it was an unfair fight from the start."

"There was something oddly familiar about her too. Can't place it." Michael scratched his head about it. "It's been bugging me too."

Josh gave a nod of understanding. How many times had he seen someone or something that spark a memory, but just couldn't place it? Just about everyone had one once in a while. Wouldn't be human if you didn't. "What happened afterwards?"

"Not sure. After the battle the three left and it was just Goku and that girl. They exchanged a few words, both looking determined about something. Next thing you know, Goku bolts out in a hurry."

Josh looked back to the girl. "Thanks for your help."

"Hey, is everything okay with Goku? I mean it was just a gunpla battle, no reason to get the cops involved."

"Its nothing like that. His wife just wanted me to look into since he came home a little… off than usual. Just going to ask her some questions is all."

The irritated girl noticed Josh's approach and she looked to stand on edge. She had a good straight open path to the exit if she were to run. No, not run. She looked anxious for a fight. That was the last thing Josh needed right now. It was his day off for Christ's sake. As she turned to regard him she revealed the gunpla carrying case on left side. She was prepared for a gunpla battle at least. _Or just preferred to carry it around._ Those that didn't tend to battle would carry one with a gunpla for more of a fashion sense. Could show it off to other if they asked. It did tend to be a good discussion starter. But her look said it wasn't for fashion. Her irritation, her stance… she was waiting for a fight to happen.

"Excuse me."

The girl's eyes narrowed as Josh retrieved his badge, showing it to her. She took one glance at the gold shield and her frown seemed to deepen. "I'm not doing anything wrong," she stated, crossing her arms.

"Didn't say you did," Josh said as he pocketed his badge in his back pocket. "I'm here at a request for a friend of mine."

"That Goku guy, right?"

"Yea, him." Josh folded his arms, back straightening slightly. Her height put her just below his chin she he had to tilt his head down a little to look her in the eyes. "I'm here about the battle that happened yesterday."

"So he isn't showing up?"

Josh blinked. _Goku was suppose to come back?_ "Last I heard he was preoccupied. I came here…"

The girl huffed, looking away with a look of… disappointment? "Figures. Just when I needed help. Instead he sends a cop." She looked down at his carrying case, the disappointment in her expression lessoning, but not much. "Guess you'll have to do." She looked to the exit of the store. "Because they're here."

Josh followed her gaze, the morning sun beaming light through a window from the ceiling and off the reflective surface of a kiosk, intensifying the beam of light behind two figures that stood at the entrance. Josh heard the clack of a heeled boot hit the tile floor, and the slam of the tip of a kendo sword as it hit the same tile. A girl with long dark hair and near matching eyes to the girl Josh was speaking with stood in an authoritative stance. She wore an all white uniform, again different from any school uniform Josh was familiar with. It looked almost military; navy perhaps in its design. Beside her though was a girl in completely opposite attire. She screamed pink lolita with a large amount of blonde hair in twin pig tails that framed a pink bow in the center of her hair while carrying a pink parasol. She wore pink platform shoes that gave her little more than an inch and a half of height, still putting her just an inch shorter than her companion. She was though at the same height as the girl who stood at Josh's side.

"Ryuko," spoke the girl in white, a slight stare that said 'you're beneath me' beaming from her towards the girl.

The now identified Ryuko growled at the girl. Josh could almost hear her teeth gnashing together. "Satsuki," Ryuko responded, her glare just as fierce. Her eyes looked to the pink lolita. "Nui."

"Hi!" the identified Nui shouted, rocking on her heels slightly.

Satsuki looked about the open room of the store before focusing on Ryuko. "I do not see your new friend, Ryuko. Abandoned you has he?"

"Excuse me," Josh said finally stepping forward. "If you're referring to my friend Goku, he's currently tied up at the moment…"

"And who is this, Ryuko?" Satsuki asked, completely dismissing Josh all together. Even ignoring the slightly perturbed look he had when she blatantly ignored him. "A replacement for our fight?"

"Now wait just…"

"I don't need help to face you," Ryuko spoke, interrupting Josh. "If its just us, you don't stand a chance, but you always have to drag Nui into our battles."

Nui hopped up once, shifting to stand on one foot in a cutely manner, head tilting to the side. "But its so much fun!"

"What will it be, Ryuko?" Satsuki asked as she spared a look in Josh's direction. "Fair or unfair you will loose." Josh watched her eye him from head to toe, and the look she gave said she wasn't impressed. "The other one, Goku was it? He looked like a capable fighter. This one…" She cut herself short when Josh's shadow looked to envelope her.

Josh was raised in a family that beat respect into their kids. You show it to your elders, no matter who they were. Yea, Josh was in his mid twenties, but he was a grown man. He had a home, a family of his own, and a good paying job. He hopes to instill his teachings and mannerisms to his son as he gets older. So when a girl who looked no older than seventeen was badmouthing him right in his face with a haughty attitude that made her think she's 'holier than thou,' well that was bound to set him off. And she was trying to talk down his physique? He prided himself in keeping in good shape. Got to with the gear a cop has to wear when on the job. The belt an officer wears carries everything he just about needs and it wasn't light.

"Two on two," Josh said, shoulders leveled and an aura that shouted 'do no speak unless spoken to'. "Ryuko and myself against you two. I'll be filling in for Goku." He leaned slightly closer. "Battle damage set to A." He didn't give her a chance to respond. He turned and walked back inside the store and towards the back where the simulator was held. He didn't bother looking in Ryuko's direction as he passed the awe struck girl. "You coming." He turned his head slightly, a resounding pop echoing from his neck. "Need to kick the dust off my wings."

**NNN**

Sammy greedily dug into a bowl of steamy ramen. His payment for helping in Corbin's little water training. The young man along with Writ and Lala sat at a small noodle shop that was set up along with other small concessions. He was already digging through his second bowl and didn't look to be slowing down, while Writ was finishing his first and only one. Lala just stare at Sammy in surprise.

"Where does 'e put it all?" she asked, looking at the boy down every drop of juice in the empty bowl.

Sammy looked ready to ask for another, holding the bowl to the cook but Writ held it back. "Nah. Two was the agreed amount, Sammy."

"Awe man," Sammy mumbled sadly.

"You need to eat more than just ramen anyway," Writ said, pushing his bowl away and digging for his wallet. "Too much salt for a kid your age."

"Eh, I'll be fine," Sammy remarked hopping down from his seat. He stretched up to the sky, fingers locked. "Well, I guess I'm going to go look for a battle." He looked to Writ as he climbed off his seat. "You have any plans?"

"Probably head back into the city and see what Corbin is up to," Writ answered as he left money for the food and a tip.

Lala gave a smirk. "How 'bout we 'eave the lad alone 'or a bit," she said, putting an arm over Writ's shoulder. "Let 'im have a bit o' fun. Mia's wit' 'im so he should be fine."

Sammy blinked, confused as to what Lala was talking about but Writ arched a brow. "Is she now."

**NNN**

Corbin's Bawoo Gundam still felt a bit off, and so he paused his machine in mid step to shake its leg. Simulated ocean water flicked out from various parts of his machine. Even after leaving the beach minutes ago his machine still felt like it was unbalanced. He had to give credit to the simulation. Sometimes it felt annoyingly too real at times. A giggle from the screen to his right had him look over to Mia, the girl hiding her mouth as she giggled at his antics. That itself was annoyingly cute to the young man. Her Lamia Gundam slithered over, helping to keep his machine balanced as he continued to shake some of the water out.

"Thanks," replied Corbin as he settled his machine back in step. After his 'training' was finished Writ, Lala, and that Sharky kid took off to get some brunch. Corbin just wanted some alone time but Mia said she would accompany him around the city. Considering Mia had tortured him in any fashion yet, or picked a fight with anyone and dragged him into it, he was happy to let her accompany him.

"No trouble at all," Mia said, a hand moving up and brushing some of hair aside. Surprisingly enough her machine followed the same motion, though there wasn't any loose synthetic strands to brush away. Once the others had left, Mia said she had a place where they could relax for a bit and get a good view of the city. Who was Corbin to turn down the offer for something that didn't make him look entirely like a gunpla battler novice. "So, this Bawoo Gundam is the prize you won from your fight yesterday?" Writ had told her of the battle after they had left the city simulation. That the man who had been harassing both her and Lala had challenged the two to a fight, with another stranger taking up for their third man in the three on three match. Writ had managed to get a copy of the fight and had sent it to her, though she hadn't watched it yet.

Corbin nodded as the Bawoo Gundam walked down the sidewalk, the Lamia Gundam keeping at his side. There were a few other gunplas around, the simulated sun started to dip in the distance. Still a good bit of time before sundown though. "Writ and Zane more or less won the fight. I merely stayed on my feet as long as I could."

"I'm sure you did well," Mia said, her machine inched further ahead and turning to look to his. "You've had prior combat before so it couldn't have been too difficult."

Corbin shook his head as he again lined himself next to Mia's machine. "There's a much larger gap than I imagined when it comes to simulation enemies and real ones. Corbin showed me that in our first meeting." They stopped at a corner, Corbin looking both ways for traffic. It was really out of habit to be honest. He wasn't expecting a car to come riding by with gunpla inside. Though the image of a convertible with its top down and four differently designed Nobel Gundams came to mind. Crossing the street and passing some custom colored GMs, Corbin noticed the high wall to their side. Further down he spotted and open metal gate. "What's this place?" he asked himself, though Mia caught on.

"This is where I wanted you to come!" she all but cheered as she slithered (hovered?) past him and through the gates.

Corbin slowly followed, not entirely as enthused as Mia was. When his machine rounded the corner, he stopped and looked on at the massive building that had been hidden by the high wall. He'd seen enough anime to recognize a school when he saw one, and this one matched the typical type you'd see. Long open yard that would lead to main front door, rows of cherry blossom trees on either side with pink petals littering the ground. Other gunpla were scattered among the quad, some moving about and minding their own business, others conversing with one another. A Gouf and a Zaku II stood by a tree, the Gouf leaning against the trunk as the two seemed to be in some private chat. Corbin still thought the whole thing was weird. His thoughts were interrupted though when Mia's machine pulled his along the pavement to the front door.

Entering the building, Corbin couldn't help but frown. "Mia, the whole point of summer vacation is to get away from school. Not to go back into it."

"I know, but doesn't it seem like an entirely different world when your not in class?" she asked as her machine looked back at him, her smiling image on the small screen to the side showing her enthusiasm. "Its like a meeting place for the young minds to just hang out when there isn't a teacher looming over you. And its not just the school either. Many of the buildings in the city can be entered and interacted with. She paused suddenly and with a deepening of her voice tried to give her best Meijin Kawaguchi impersonation. "Gunpla is freedom!" For some reason, she added the signature Sailor Moon pose.

"I seriously doubt he had this kind of freedom in mind," Corbin replied, though he couldn't stop himself from smiling at Mia's antics.

Again the Lamia Gundam dragged along the Bawoo Gundam up through the school, taking the stairs with Mia replying 'its just like in the anime'. Which one he didn't have a clue, though considering most Japanese styled schools in anime tended to have stair cases that stretched to each floor it could have been any anime. More than likely it was one of those 'slice of life' types. Mia looked like the girl who would watch those gushy anime's about high school life antics and romances.

Some of the rooms and halls they passed were empty. Some had a few occupants, two to three at the most. Occasionally you'd see one gunpla lounging by a window, staring out into nothing. That type tended to worry Corbin before he remembered this whole thing was a simulation. Did make him wonder about the fighter behind the gunpla though.

Reaching the last door, Mia pushed it open to reveal the roof of the school. "We're here!" she cried, her gunpla's arms shooting to the air in victory.

Corbin smiled and shook his head. Taking a moment to look around he saw they weren't alone. Some others seemed to have had the same thought as Mia and again groups of two to three were seen, though Corbin noted there were more groups of two littering the roof. Checking the chronometer he saw the time was getting later in the simulated world and the sun was quickly setting for the night. Again Mia tugged his machine over to the edge, guard fence preventing them from pushing their machine over the side. And she had been right. It was a good view. From the beach to the school was a fare hike for their machines, considering the area was a no fly zone. Had to travel up a hill to a secluded district that was more than likely modeled after a real location in Japan. The school itself sat pretty much at the top with a few local structures that acted as stores and homes. If it had been real, the area would have been filled with people on the sidewalks with slow moving vehicles on the streets. But being on top of the school gave Corbin a good view of the beach they had previously visited, and on from there was the city. With it getting darker, lights began to activate through the city, illuminating the darkness.

But that setting sun painted a pretty picture that Corbin never took the time to try and see outside the simulator. Back in the real world.

"Told you the view was nice," Mia said, breaking the serene silence. She shifted her machine to rest its hands on the guard rail. "I always like coming up here to watch this. Never really have anyone to join me though."

Corbin glanced at both her and her machine. "You seem pretty tight with Writ and Lala. They don't join you?"

Mia shook her head. "Mr. Butler is busy. And like him Lala lives pretty far away." She twiddled her thumbs a little before putting the tips of her index fingers together.

"Friends from school then?"

Mia shook her head. "I'm mostly home schooled. What friends I do make are usually online or here on these events. Some of those friends were suppose to show but I haven't seen them except Lala." She bit her lip, worried about what Corbin may be thinking about her at that moment. However a simple ping on her dash alerted her to a message. Looking up she saw contact information sent from the very young man who stood his machine next to hers.

"I guess if you want, that's my contact info," he said, looking forward and avoiding eye contact with the girl on the screen. He'd never given a girl his info before so he was trying very hard to hide the blush that crept up on him. "I'll be leaving at the end of the weekend but if you want to keep in touch…" he stopped when a similar ping that Mia received came to his console. It was Mia's own information. He swallowed a lump that had formed and saved the info to his GP base.

"I'd like to keep in contact," Mia said.

Corbin tried to keep calm but the whole situation made him shake slightly. _Why couldn't this be a real date?_ He thought, then blinked. _Wait was this a date?_ He couldn't think too much on it as a late warning from his machine came just as a pink energy wrapped around his machine, his gunpla forcefully yanked back from the Lamia, Mia and her machine quickly turning as Corbin was pulled away. He forcefully drove his gunpla's fist into the floor of the roof, anchoring himself down as a shadow came over his machine. Looking over his machine he noticed it was some kind of energy ribbon, much similar to the one used by the Nobel Gundam or Master Gundam… no it looked more like a netting. Like a web.

Yanked up, his machine was quickly wrapped up more and more into the energy webbing. His view was turned upside down before getting a view of what he thought was a mobile armor. A large lower half resembling a spider stood on eight legs, majority of it painted black and purple. The upper body was custom made though it looked to be built from a GN Archer. The head was sharply angled, much like a mix of a Gundam Astray and Gundam Harute, though it lacked the pivotal red chin piece. Eight optics glowed red as it stared down at him.

"Rachel!" Mia cried. Though Corbin wasn't sure if it was in fright or joy.

The owner of the machine laughed haughtily. "Well, well, well Mia," the pilot now identified as Rachel scurried around Mia's gunpla, dragging Corbin's around like the catch of the day. "So sorry it took me so long to get here but traffic was murder." She hauled up his gunpla to a higher level. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything." You could just picture the smile on her face. She was enjoying this. "And just who is this darling person?"

**NNN**

Inside the derelict colony environment, Ryuko's Gundam Age Spallow stood quietly waiting for her 'partner'. There wasn't much deviation from the standard build of the gunpla, with it only being primarily black with red and gold accents. In its left hand, held in a reverse grip was one half of a gunpla scissor sword. The entire blade was colored blood red with a nice sheen to it. With a little touch of anti-beam coating to help in defense against beam weapons. Like her opponents she preferred up and close than long range, so she wasn't worried about being shot at as she stood proudly on a hill just on the outskirts of the city. She just wondered what her 'partner' preferred. She knew nothing of the man and his style of combat. For all she new he was a terrible fighter.

"That would be my luck," Ryuko mumbled, left finger tapping on her haptic controls. "At least that Goku guy could fight." And boy did he. She'd never seen anyone use a Shinning Gundam like she had seen. Goku was able to stand toe to toe with Satsuki and that was no easy feat. She herself had matched her from time to time but she was better with a blade than she was. Goku though would have brought a sure victory though. "If only SHE hadn't interfered I would have won." That WOMAN just jumped in and took her out of the fight, leaving Goku at the mercy of the three. He held out as best as he could but in the end he lost.

Wasn't long after she thought of that woman did she notice the enemy approaching on her radar, and looked to see Satsuki's Nobel Gundam Junketsu on high approach alongside Nui's pink Farsia, purple scissor blade in one hand and closed parasol in the other. Ryuko readied her Spallow Senketsu, scissor blade held in both hands and ready for the strike.

"Look Satsuki!" called Nui, bright smile still on her face. "Looks like Ryuko's new partner hasn't arrived yet." She would gladly admit she didn't find the man interesting the least. He looked… plain. Boring. No where near as playful as the monkey guy from the day before. He was so eager for the fight… it was just exciting!

Satsuki just frowned. "I'm sure he'll show. Go play with Ryuko till he arrives."

"Yes ma'am!" Nui beamed, her Farsia performing a elegant curtsy.

Satsuki and her Junketsu halted, hovering in the air as Nui rushed off to meet with Ryuko, her laughing echoing over the open comm channel. Her charge was halted though as a sword came hurtling down from the sky, stabbing the ground just between Nui and Ryuko. Both scissor blade wielding girls looked up in mild surprise. Satsuki however simply arched a brow and looked up into the thin swirling clouds above as Josh's gunpla began to descend towards them. "Destiny," Satsuki murmured, watching the alternate colored machine slowly come down from on high, arms folded with a gleam of its optics as if it was passing judgement.

"Started out on the other side of the colony," Josh told Ryuko as his image popped up at her side. She sent him an annoyed glare in return. "So who gets to fight who?"

Landing gently next to the sword, Josh's Destiny Gundam Karasu drew the blade from the dirt. Seeming to be a running theme with gunpla these days, its primary color was black with traces of purple, red and yellow along its form. Both the anti ship sword and long range cannon were removed, leaving its only armament the sword it took up, the scabbard clipped to the left armor skirt. Green optics were aimed directly at Satsuki's Junketsu.

Ryuko marched up next to Josh's Karasu. She eyed his machine with a skeptic glance before saying, "Hope you can fight." She wasn't just trading banter. She really did hope he could fight. If that machine was just for show he was going to be in for a rude awakening.

Josh said nothing. It wasn't till he actually uploaded his machine and its combat data into the simulator that he thought this was stupid. Being an adult he should have been above letting his emotions get pulled and yanked by the rudeness of some kid. Though he really wanted to wipe that obnoxious look off her face. Was that so wrong?

The Karasu, at Josh's simple commands, gave the blade a simple twirl before resting the tip at the entrance of the sheath. Slowly he sheathed the blade, the sound of metal rubbing against metal echoing around them in the silent environment. A loud click signaled the blade to be completely enveloped in its sheath, and Nui took it as her queue to continue her attack. Of course her target wasn't Josh. She simply veered to the side sharply before correcting her course for Ryuko, the two clashing their personal scissor blades, Nui pushing Ryuko back so to give them a bit more room to fight. Josh didn't even flinch. His crosshairs were focused solely on the white MS that brandish its own sword.

Ryuko ducked below Nui's swipe followed by a quick reversal to avoid the parasol, the tip igniting a short beam blade. Nui laughed as she continued to try and stab at her machine, but Ryuko kept pace in dodging, pausing briefly to block Nui's scissor blade with her own. Pushing the weapon aside she came in with a right fist. Nui though elegantly rolled around the attack, the heel of her machine's foot landing a blow in the Age Spallow Senketsu's side. She rolled down the hill towards the city but stopped herself, falling into a kneeling position. She fired the needle gun built into the knee, red darts soaring towards Nui's Farsia, but the girl simply giggled and spun the parasol, the darts bouncing off harmlessly.

The Farsia planted the tip of its scissor blade into the dirt and rest the parasol on its shoulder. "Same tricks, eh Ryuko?" Nui asked, sounding disappointed. And she was. Ryuko had used a similar tactic in the last fight and it had the same effect. Nothing.

"Not really," Ryuko remarked with a grin as she hit a command on her controls. The darts she had fired from the needle gun weren't simple darts. They were explosive.

And Nui found this out as the various darts that littered the ground around her began to explode. She squealed in surprise, vision obscured by the growing dust cloud. But it was short lived as Ryuko came through the cloud, her blade bashing aside the parasol Nui used as a shield, and quickly followed up with a spinning kick to the Farsia's side. She rolled once but was back on her feet in no time and backing up into the city. Ryuko didn't waste any more time and chased after her, though she spared a glance at Josh and Satsuki. Neither of them had moved, and were just standing there, though both were posed to draw their sword. Definitely different than Goku. He had jumped into their fight with no regard.

Josh for his part was not one to just rush in. He kept his heart rate at a normal level and relaxed his hold on the controls. He was waiting for her to make the first move, and he was sure she was doing the same. _She was carrying a practice sword earlier, _he thought. _Maybe she really does know how to swing a sword._ He would never admit to being a professional swordsman, though if given the chance he would definitely take classes. No his skills were self taught with a bit of practice with Writ, and lesser occasions with Adam. Writ was better though, and had an aggressive side to him. Adam was more reserved and preferred the enemy to make the first move like himself. So you could imagine the stand off taking more than ten minutes. It was agonizing. This Satsuki person though seemed confident in her skills. The way she lazily had her machine standing in place with its hand resting on the pommel of her katana. She wasn't taking him seriously. That gave him a bit of advantage.

Satsuki huffed. She was bored. Goku had rushed in, happy to engage in a fight with her but this Josh person simply stood his ground, ready for the first strike to come his way. His choice of machine was interesting though. If he was one to use close combat as his choice for a battle, why use the Destiny Gundam? Yes the machine was used by a reckless fool in the series who at a number of times like to move in close for his attacks, but the machine was made for much more than that. Perhaps it was the use the machine's Voiture Lumiere Propulsion System. It still housed its Flash-Edge beam boomerangs, so there was that. It would give him a bit of an edge in distance. She hated those weapons. Unpractical and nothing but a gimmick in her opinion. Would he still have the Palma Fiocina palm beam cannons? Even she had to admit they had their uses.

A chain of explosions drew her attention for a fraction of a second. The city was lit ablaze by Ryuko, who continued to fire her exploding darts at Nui. The pink lolita and her Farsia pranced from building to building, dodging the darts with the elegance of a ballerina. Satsuki could only imagine the utter annoyance Ryuko felt and just couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"You should be focusing on me."

Satsuki blinked. _How did he…_ Her thought process stopped when she noticed a brief flash in front of her, and commanded her machine to back away, Josh's Destiny Karasu standing in the former spot her machine had once stood, sword drawn in a one handed stroke. _He's faster than I predicted._ Josh moved once more, wings flared out with lights and particles exiting the vernier jets. Taking his sword in both hands Josh pushed his machine towards Satsuki, swinging horizontally to cleave her machine in two at the hip. She smirked and brought her weapon around to block his attack, though she wasn't prepared for the force of the blow, knocking her weapon back and leaving her open for a kick that sent her plummeting towards the city. Rear and skirt thrusters slowed her fall and allowed her to skim the ground as Josh flew overhead. His blade reversed in both hands, he dropped like a boulder, intending to stab her machine into the ground. With a growl Satsuki's Nobel Junketsu dodged the attack, the blade piercing the concrete.

Her heart racing, Satsuki flipped her machine onto its feet and prepared her sword for the next attack. But Josh was moving slow, standing his machine up and draw his own sword from the ground. She would not be distracted again. In that brief skirmish that lasted a mere five seconds, Josh had proven to be a bigger threat than she had originally perceived. Looking at him closer, she noticed the build looked a bit sleeker. Less armor? A real type build? With the weapons removed and less armor, plus a some minor adjustments to the machines speed and power output she was sure he had made his machine optimal for speed and power while diminishing his defense. Almost no different than her own build and its design. _A kindred spirit perhaps?_ she thought. His attacks were fast and powerful, showing he wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible. Her defense though showed she could match his speed. Unless he had another trick she wasn't aware of yet. And with the variety of other weapons she could easily gleam from his machine she was sure he had some.

Josh sheathed his blade once more and returned to a ready stance. _She's better than I thought_, Josh thought as he studied the girl, who held her blade at a horizontal level with her machine's head. She would have to be to beat Goku. But from what he was told there had been a third player that had joined the fight. The third person may have been the better of this group of three. Maybe if he could deal with this one he could get some answers to this other unknown who pulled an unfair win on Goku and Ryuko. Thinking on the girl he glanced to see her AGE Spallow trade blows with the Farsia. Shew as too angry and head strong. The pink lolita was just toying with her now that she had used her trump card. He assumed it was her trump card at least. He barely knew the girl and how she fought. If she didn't stop to think on her next move she was going to loose this fight.

Tapping into the comm channel, Josh said, "Hey kid."

"Don't call me that!" Ryuko shouted, followed by an annoyed growl as she again slashed at the Farsia, only to miss and simply cleave a large gash into the side of a building. "What do you want?"

"Think you can push her this way?"

"Maybe, why?"

"We need to switch opponents. You're not getting anywhere with her."

"What, is Satsuki too much for you?"

"Hardly. It's called strategy. Get her over here while I'm fighting the white one. When I give you the signal, we switch targets. The sudden change in tactics will throw them off and leave them open, but only for a second."

Ryuko blinked, mulling the plan over in her head as she stopped in her chase after Nui's Farsia. It did sound good. Plus it would give her a shot at Satsuki. She really couldn't argue with that logic. "Fine," she said as she continued the fight with Nui, the Farsia blocking a swing from her scissor blade. She fired two darts to the side, forcing Nui to move in the path of both Josh and Satsuki.

Wings flared, Josh pushed forward and drew his sword. Satsuki was ready for him and charged in as well, synthetic black hair trailing behind her machine. She brought her blade down at an angle to block his sword. Taking the initiative Satsuki came in with another angled strike, but Josh pushed away, the blade missing by inches. She closed the distance to stab at the cockpit, but Josh's Destiny parried the attack, annihilating the gap between them with a shoulder rush.

Josh looked seeing Ryuko was close by, but still not enough for them to switch targets. Again closing the distance he brought his sword up in a low angle, Satsuki's block pushing her back towards Ryuko and Nui. Good. They were closer now. Firing the head mounted CIWS forced her to move some more, the shots straying off and tearing through a building behind her last location. He was sure that was going to irritate her, but he didn't care. Ryuko did the same, firing another explosive dart that pushed Nui closer.

"Now!"

Josh jumped up, his image looking to come down on Satsuki with an overhead attack, but the second she moved to block Josh completely passed over her. Looking over her machine's shoulder, she was surprised to see Ryuko moving around Nui, her Spallow Senketsu rushing towards her with her blade aimed at her back. Nui's Farsia looked to follow, but stopped as she took notice of the looming shadow of the Destiny Karasu. She brought both her weapons up to block the blow, her machine jolting heavily from the blow and sent hurtling backwards into a building.

Satsuki though with one hand swing her blade around, knocking Ryuko's aside but the girl continued onward, shoulder slamming into the side of the Nobel Junketsu. The two impacted into the ground, the street ripped apart from their bout. As Spallow Senketsu and Nobel Junketsu climbed to their feet, Ryuko took the advantage, free hand taking the synthetic hair of Satsuki's machine and held her machine in place as her machine slammed its forehead into other.

Ryuko grinned as she stood over Satsuki's machine. "Not so high and mighty now, are you sis."

Josh paused in his advance towards Nui. He turned back, his machine locking onto both Satsuki and Ryuko's machines. "Wait, she's your sister?"

The Age Senketsu leapt back from a swing of the Nobel Junketsu's katana. Ryuko's landing dug her heels into the street, twin trenches gouging the concrete till she stopped some meters away. "Yea. Nui too. She's the youngest." A burst from her rear thrusters shot her forward, her blade clashing with Satsuki's.

The Destiny Karasu turned back to the Farsia, the pink machine prying itself out of the building. "I'm stuck in the middle of a family feud." Saying it out loud made it all the worse. "If they're your… who's the oldest?"

"Satsuki is!" Ryuko shouted ducking from another strike.

_So if the sisters teamed up against both Ryuko and Goku…_ The Farsia charged forward, scissor blade coming down to cleave his machine from shoulder to hip. He met it with his katana, a resounding clang echoing from the blow. Nui wasted no time and drove her parasol forward, the beam blade igniting from the tip. But Josh activated the palm beam cannon in the right hand, the beam blade stopped into the palm of the Destiny Karasu. The two opposing beams clashed, the Destiny Karasu's fingers closing down onto the parasol and crushing it. Nui retreated back and tossed the useless parasol aside. _Then who was the third person?_

The Spallow Senketsu skid to Josh's side, stopping with the scissor blade held to the front. Giving a short glance Josh could see the amount of damage Ryuko's machine had taken throughout her fight with Nui and Satsuki. Various slashes covered the frame with a few fractures lining the left arm and leg. Left half of the head crest was bent with it sinking slightly into a dent. No doubt from the unorthodox head-butt she delivered earlier. Glancing at the right hand of his own machine, Josh could see the beam emitter was ruined from his block of Nui's own beam weapon. The hand was functional but wouldn't be able to fire a again. He wouldn't lie and say he was coming out of this without his own scratches. Nui's machine was sporting a few blemishes and soot from the explosion of Ryuko's darts. Other than that her machine was looking far better than Ryuko's. Rear camera gave him a view of Satsuki, the girl preparing her machine for the next attack. Seemed between him and Ryuko she got some work to do on her gunpla when everything was said and done.

Nui was a little miffed about loosing her parasol but she wouldn't lie and say she wasn't having any fun. Ryuko was beginning to become a bore but this Josh guy was spicing the fight up. His use of the palm beam cannon to stop her blade was a surprise. She hadn't expected that. And the fact the hand was still functional showed he was well diverse in the maintenance of his gunpla. Being a professional builder herself she could see fine craftsmanship when she saw it and thought it appeared to be a straight build with a different paint job, she could see otherwise. He took pride in his work. And time too. "Having fun, Satsuki?"

"Thrilled," was Satsuki's reply, keeping her answer short and too the point so she could focus on the fight. Though her main target was the Destiny, Ryuko's Spallow would be in the way. This man had skill, which was surprising because he lacked the appearance of someone who could use a blade. This town they had traveled to had some surprising characters to fight with. First that Goku person now this Josh fellow. It was foolish of her to simply brush him off as some Neanderthal who thought he could just swing a sword and call it skill. He's fought before, perhaps on a professional level. She would know though if he had fought in the world tournament. A Destiny of that look and style of fighting wouldn't be missed so easily be her.

"So you girls ready to answer some questions?" Josh asked over an open channel, getting the full attention of the three girls.

"What are you doing?" Ryuko asked. "We've got to keep up the pressure, or we'll loose this."

Josh gave her a look. "I didn't come here to pick fights and beat up little girls," he answered back before looking to the other two sisters on his screen. "Granted yes I just laid a beating on your gunplas but that's entirely different."

"What is your question?" Satsuki asked.

"What is this whole mess about?"

"It's a family issue," was her only answer, nose lifted higher as if she was still superior to Josh. "If you didn't want to get involved you should have just stayed out of it."

The Destiny Karasu shifted slightly, the head turning to send a glare towards Satsuki's gunpla. "My friend got involved in this same little spat between you girls and now he's acting out of the ordinary. You will answer my questions as to what went down. NOW."

Satsuki sneered. "You have no say in any of this." He machined pushed off, heels digging into the street as she prepared to stab the Destiny in the back, but Ryuko got in her path, her scissor blade slapping aside Satsuki's katana. "Get out of the way, Ryuko!" She blocked the scissor blade as it came down intending to take her arm in half.

Josh turned his gunpla to face the fight behind him, but had to turn his attention back to Nui as she charged towards him. He bashed her blade aside, free but damaged hand swinging around and basically slapping her Farsia into a building. He sheathed his sword quickly and moved in, pinning the Farsia into the building. He gave a growl. "Think I might be getting too old for this…" he grumbled.

**To Be Continued…**

**Okay, I ended it a bit sooner than I thought I would, but the reason was that I felt it would get a bit stagnant if I drew it out any longer. That and at the rate I'm going I'm eventually stepping into certain territories that eventually lead into my other fic, Eyes in Seed and the eventual sequel, Seed Destiny Reborn. And I'm not going to lie. If you haven't guessed yet Adam is back in the reality of GBF, but isn't making an appearance. Which means that the events of Seed have ended, so you can see why I'm kinda stretching this out and holding off till I play catch up. And certain things will be revealed like Adam's ties to Writ and his crew. But that won't mean this story ends. Corbin is still kinda the main character and as such still has a journey to follow to better himself as a battler.**

**But don't be expecting an update of either this or Eyes in Seed for a while. I'm still working on my other fics as well, plus one I'm kinda doing for myself and not planning to post… maybe. I'll give you a hint of what its about: Symbiote. That's all you're getting. The next one to update will be my RWBY/FF14 crossover. Once that is done I'll work on this fic again and then fall back to Eyes in Seed. Until then, later.**


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